Last Chance
by zky-zephyr
Summary: Tragedy brings the girls together. Set 8 years after high school. Shoujoai.
1. Chapter 1

**Last Chance**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Azumanga Daioh

**Warning: **Shoujo-ai

_Story Notes: This story takes place 8 years after the girls graduate high school._

It was all over the news, early that Tuesday morning. Ayumu Kasuga let out a strangled noise and dropped the tray of donuts she had been carrying to the front when she heard the train number. Her customers all looked up, concerned for the normally cheery donut shop owner.

Is it possible for two people to have been riding the same train for 2 years without running into each other, ever? Koyomi Mizuhara was on her way to work when her world came crashing down upon her. Tomo Takino was 4 cars behind her old friend oblivious to the imminent catastrophe as she drank down her energy drink still not recovered from her 14 hour shift the day before.

The last thing Yomi remembered before she lost consciousness was a loud explosion followed by a searing pain that coursed through her body. She didn't even have time to scream. Tomo had been standing in the crowded car one hand holding her drink and the other holding the handrail. She was just raising her can for another gulp when she heard a loud explosion and felt her feet leave the floor as she was thrown violently forward.

Tomo sat on the ground in a daze surrounded by the chaos. Her broken left arm had a splint and she had a bandage around her head. Somewhere deep down on the inside she was happy to be alive but her heart wished that her life could've been taken to spare another as she watched stretchers bearing the dead and injured carried past her. Some of them were obviously children. A vibration on her hip told her that her cell phone was still working. No doubt, it would be someone from her work who knew she took this train every morning. She answered it without checking the number.

"Takino."

"Tomo?" a scared voice spoke in return.

"Who is this?"

"Tomo, its Ayumu…Osaka…I know we haven't spoken in awhile…" the voice at the other end choked back a sob.

"Ayumu! What's wrong?" Tomo was finding it hard to concentrate. Her head was throbbing.

"The…the train, this morning…" Ayumu was finding it difficult to not break down from fear.

"Yes? I was on it, I'm here at the crash…but I'm okay so don't worry." Tomo tried to sound upbeat.

"Oh God! Tomo!" Ayumu was crying on the other end.

"Ayumu, are you here too? Calm down. I can help. Tell me where you're at."

"It's not me, Tomo…" Ayumu's voice got very distant.

Tomo's hand began to shake uncontrollably as she slowly realized who Ayumu was talking about. She knew that Yomi and Ayumu saw each other regularly…for whatever reason. She didn't really like thinking about it.

"No. It's not true."

"She might be okay…"

"_No_. I take this train _every_ day. I've _never_ seen her!"

"Tomo, please!"

"_No! I don't believe you!"_ Tomo was shouting at this point as she heard Ayumu beg her to find Yomi.

"Please find her, Tomo! You're right there…please! She might need you!"

"There are hundreds of people here…"

"Sometimes I meet her at the station, Tomo; she always sits in the fifth car from the front."

"You know which car she's in?" Tomo was shaken out of her grief by this revelation.

"Um, yes."

"How…"

"Tomo, please don't be upset. It's not what you think. Just find Yomi."

"Okay. Uh, I'll call you back in a bit. Bye."

"Bye."

The phone call had lasted less than 10 minutes. Tomo's heart beat accelerated as she thought about the task she had been given. Find her best friend. Find the one person she cherished the most. Find Yomi.

While looking for Yomi, Tomo stopped and talked to a couple of officers at the scene. They answered all her questions after she showed them her badge. She found out that the police suspected that a bomb had been planted in the fourth car from the front. So far, 20 people dead, 30 people severely injured and who knows how many people with minor injuries. Tomo briefly wondered which category she fit in as she fought back the darkness that threatened to envelop her. Must've got more than a minor concussion, she thought. Well, that combined with emotions and just being very exhausted from her work schedule.

Tomo threw up onto the ground when she finally got a clear view of the area where she hoped to find Yomi. The car where the bomb was placed was completely obliterated. The adjacent cars themselves were tore up and mangled. What were the chances of Yomi sitting in a different car that morning?

"Sergeant Takino!" A sharp voice called to her.

Tearing her eyes from the devastation, Tomo looked for the person who had called out to her. A tall, dark haired man in an ICPO uniform was quickly walking towards her.

"Captain Koga." Tomo saluted her superior.

"Are you okay, Takino? It looks like you were on the train, too."

Tomo nodded.

"We have reports that there were at least 12 ICPO officers on this train. We have heard from 4 of them, well 5, now that I've found you." Captain Koga placed a comforting hand on Tomo's shoulder. Tomo started shaking and slowly backed away from the captain. How dare this man touch her! Tomo wanted to pull her gun out and shoot Koga right between his miserable eyes. The thought of Yomi needing her help kept Tomo from losing control as she turned her back on the captain and continued to search for her friend. Captain Koga watched Tomo walk quickly away; he would deal with her later.

Ayumu was sitting in the back of her donut shop by the phone. She was grateful for the two employees that helped her every morning. They had continued helping the customers after Ayumu had spoken to Tomo. They were so good. Didn't even ask for an explanation. She would bake them a special cake later to thank them. Ayumu's thoughts drifted back to Yomi and Tomo after she had mentally planned what cake she would prepare for her employees.

The best friends had a falling out about 4 years ago and although they lived in the same city they seldom saw each other. Communicating only by e-mail about every other week. Ayumu wasn't sure what happened exactly except that it maybe had to do with their careers; Tomo joining the ICPO and Yomi pursuing a career as a lawyer. Or maybe it didn't… The phone rang…

"Kasuga Donuts." She answered hesitantly.

"Ayumu, it's me. I found her."

"Is she okay, Tomo?" Ayumu started crying again.

"She isn't dead but…it's really bad Ayumu, she's hurt…" Tomo couldn't finish the sentence.

"Thank you, Tomo, for finding her. I' m sure she'll be alright." Ayumu tried to sound positive.

"What'll I do if she dies?" Tomo quietly whispered.

"She won't die. Yomi would never give up without a fight."

"Will you please call the others, Ayumu? They're calling me into work. This is a real mess."

"Of course, Tomo."

"Um, okay…uh, can I call you after work?"

"Of course, I'll call you if anything changes."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

Tomo wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. She couldn't believe that they were still making her go into work. She'd have to get checked out by the in-house doctor and then maybe they would let her leave for the day. With a heavy heart, Tomo got into the ICPO car that had been sent for her.

She had found Yomi just as they were hastily loading her into an ambulance. Surprisingly, Yomi was semi-conscious and looked relieved when she recognized her best friend. It had taken every ounce of Tomo's police training to keep her from completely losing her composure when she saw the bloody mess that was her dearest friend. Tomo had promised Yomi that she would visit her in the hospital and demanded that she get well immediately. Yomi didn't want to let her go. Tomo had given her a light kiss as she was pulled out of the ambulance by the paramedics. When she could no longer see the ambulance she had called Ayumu.

After careful deliberation, Ayumu decided to call Kagura first. Following Yomi, she was the next friend she saw the most of from high school. Ayumu liked all her friends but Kagura was the one she admired the most. The athlete wasn't the smartest but she had a big heart and was willing to work hard for what she wanted. She had also helped install a lot of the large appliances in Ayumu's donut shop. So Ayumu wasn't opposed to giving her free donuts whenever she came in, even if it was against her sports diet.

Kagura was in the pool coaching the women's water polo team at Tokyo University when one of the assistant coaches ran up to her.

"Coach, you've got an urgent phone call!"

"How urgent is it? I'm kinda busy."

"There's an Ayumu Kasuga on the phone, she sounds upset."

The assistant almost fell in as Kagura swiftly got out of the pool and started running for the main office without even grabbing a towel.

"Ayumu? What's wrong?" Kagura had taken the call in her office.

"Hi Kagura. I'm sorry to disturb you at work but it's really important."

"Don't even worry about it, tell me what's up." Kagura could tell that Ayumu had been crying. She could feel anger building at the thought that someone may have hurt her.

"Did you see the news about the train wreck this morning?" Ayumu began to cry softly.

"Sorry, Ayumu, I didn't see it. I've been in the pool since 5:00am. Who got hurt?" Kagura prepared herself for the bad news.

"Ayumu?" Kagura grew uneasy as she listened to her good friend cry. "Please tell me. It's okay."

"Yomi was on the train."

"Yomi! She's okay right? Tell me she's okay!" Kagura suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Tomo found her. She's at the hospital. It's really bad, Kagura."

"Who else have you called?"

"Just you…"

"Okay, I think Chiyo has a class today. I can look her up in the rosters. I'm going to get her and then we'll meet you at the shop, okay?"

"Thanks Kagura. I'll call Sakaki." The relief in Ayumu's voice made Kagura's heart feel lighter.

"Alright, I'll see you in 30 minutes. Hang in there."

Chiyo Mihama was in the middle of a lab experiment when she saw Kagura talking to her professor. As she watched, her professor pointed in her direction. Chiyo dropped the test tube she had removed from the rack when she saw Kagura's face. Five minutes later, she was in Kagura's car racing towards Ayumu's donut shop.

Kagura glanced over at the 21-year old in the passenger seat. Chiyo was busy talking to her father who was some kind of doctor at the hospital where Yomi had been taken. She still couldn't make up her mind if she liked the grown-up Chiyo that had returned from America 3 years ago. It was mostly the same Chiyo but there was something else. Something had happened to Chiyo but none of them, not even Sakaki, had been able to learn what it was. Yomi had called it apathy and had tried to explain what that meant but Kagura was still confused. She missed the sweet little girl they had known in high school.

Sakaki was sitting in her office proofreading a colleague's paper on the diet of ancient Iriomote when her secretary alerted her to an important phone call on line 1. Her office was decorated with cats. Iriomote cats to be more specific and her Iriomote cat in particular. The only rival to the cats would have to be the pictures of her and her friends. There was a handful of her with her co-workers and a couple of her with friends she had made in college. But most of the pictures with people contained her with a group of 5 females at various stages of life. The most prominent, however, was the one and only picture on her desk. She was in front of a nice house sitting under a tree holding Maya. Next to her was a little girl with pigtails leaning against a big dog.

"Sakaki."

"Uh, hi Sakaki. This is Ayumu." Sakaki sat up as she heard the despair in her friend's voice.

"What's wrong?" She softly asked.

"Yomi was in the train wreck in Tokyo this morning."

"I'm on my way, Ayumu. I'll call you when I get my flight plan."

"Please hurry."

**A/N:** Please R&R. Story Notes can be found on my profile page. Go there to learn more or less.


	2. Chapter 2

**Last Chance – Chapter 2**

_**Thanks to all who reviewed! I really appreciate the feedback.**_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh

**Warning:** Shoujo-ai

_The entire class had been looking forward to the trip. The nice spring weather begged to be enjoyed. It was a warm day and the 5th graders were on a nature walk. She had gotten hurt about half way through the walk. She had been trying to get closer to some pretty flowers she had seen. Did I trip? There were sharp rocks painfully digging into her skin and then…_

When Kagura and Chiyo walked into the back of the donut shop they found Ayumu up to her elbows in suds. She was humming along with a song coming out of the small radio that sat on a shelf above her as she washed baking pans. The phone rang as Kagura tapped Ayumu on the shoulder. Chiyo walked to the desk Ayumu kept in the back and answered the phone.

"Hello? Um, I mean Kasuga Donuts…"

"Chiyo?"

"Sakaki?"

Ayumu was so glad to see Kagura that she didn't even think about the soapy hug she was giving as she cried into her friend's shoulder. Kagura calmly waited while Ayumu poured out her grief. They had all grown very close over the years. Sometimes they seemed like more than family to Kagura. She could see Chiyo talking on the phone but the younger girl had her back turned to her so she couldn't tell if it was a good or bad phone call. Oh well, she thought, might as well continue with the good news.

"Chiyo was able to speak with her dad. He said that Yomi is in surgery right now and isn't scheduled to be out of it for a couple of hours. He'll call us then."

"Shouldn't we go and wait at the hospital?"

"No, apparently that's what everyone's doing and it's swamped. It's better if we wait for a call."

"I'm going to finish these dishes and then we can have lunch. I'm sure you're starving"

Ayumu added another quick hug before she returned to washing dishes. Kagura hopped onto the counter next to her and told her animatedly about her water polo team's last match. Both feeling much better being together and knowing that there was a chance that a good friend might live.

"Chiyo?" Sakaki nervously asked as she tried to ignore the heavy silence at the other end.

"Is everything okay, Chiyo?" Sakaki sighed inwardly. Why wouldn't Chiyo speak to her?

"Well, my plane is leaving in 2 hours. I should be in Tokyo early this evening."

"Could you please tell Ayumu?" Sakaki jumped as she heard a voice suddenly shouting.

"Chiyo! What's with that face! Who're you talking to?"

Kagura had walked over to check on Chiyo as Ayumu made lunch for them.

"Is it the hospital? Hey! Snap out of it!"

A well-placed elbow brought Chiyo back. She wordlessly handed the phone to Kagura and sat down at the desk. Kagura couldn't read the expression on Chiyo's face at all. She looked strangely numb and not there at all.

"Hello?"

"Kagura, its Sakaki."

"Hey Babe!" Kagura said cheerily as she leaned on the desk next to Chiyo.

"Ayumu! Sakaki is on the phone!"

"Tell her I said she's beautiful!" Ayumu called back to Kagura.

"Did you hear that?" Kagura asked Sakaki.

"Um, yeah. What's wrong with Chiyo? Did I do something?"

"Oh, the little one is just fine. When I picked her up she was busy playing chemistry again, she's probably still high. Ha! Ha!"

'Be serious, please."

"It's the same, Sakaki. It's still the same." Kagura mumbled into the phone.

"Give me the phone."

"Chiyo wants to talk to you again."

"Wait, Kagura! I'd like to speak with Ayumu first."

"Chiyo, Sakaki wants to talk to Ayumu first. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, I'll wait."

Ayumu had brought some sandwiches over for their lunch. Chiyo picked one up as Ayumu took the phone from Kagura.

When Chiyo came back to Japan to visit after her first year of college in America, she had found that her friends had gotten into an outrageous habit of flirting with Sakaki. Even Yomi did it but it wasn't as often as the other three. Chiyo didn't really understand or question what was going on until she was about 16. She had only thought of their behavior as indirect compliments until a particularly unruly episode between Kagura, Tomo and Sakaki. Chiyo had confronted Sakaki about it and had demanded to know why she put up with that behavior especially when it was obvious that it made her uncomfortable. It was the one and only time she had yelled at Sakaki. Yomi was the only one who was successful at calming her down afterwards and explaining everything. The flirting still bothered her a lot but…

"Hiya Sakaki!"

"Hi Ayumu. Are you near Chiyo?"

"Yeah, Kagura's a pig. You should be more partial to cuddly bunnies."

"Um, well, I guess it can wait then. How's Yomi?"

"She made it to the hospital and she's in surgery right now. We'll get a call once she's out and we can visit."

"That's good to hear. sigh Is it okay if I stay with you until this weekend?"

"Of course, I have plenty of room in my bed. You can even invite your friends if you want."

"Thanks Ayumu. I'll talk to Chiyo now."

Ayumu handed the phone to Chiyo and signaled for Kagura to follow her. The two women headed for some stairs that led to Ayumu's home which was located above her donut shop. Chiyo waited until they were gone, took a deep breath and told herself that she had to start caring again at some point.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier, Sakaki." She hoped she sounded sincere.

"I wish you'd tell me what's wrong." The pain in her heart increased as Sakaki was met by silence again.

"When you're ready, Chiyo, I'll listen. Just let me know."

"Thank you." Chiyo forced herself to speak.

"I'll see you this evening."

"Okay. Bye, Sakaki."

Kagura and Ayumu were sitting on the couch talking quietly when Chiyo went upstairs. She hesitated at the doorway not sure of what she was interrupting. Chiyo often wondered what the chances were of all her friends turning out to be lesbians. Kagura and Tomo had been out for years but the rest of them hadn't said yes, no or maybe. Not that she'd actually had the guts to ask. They're behavior towards Sakaki and the way she calmly took it further confused her. Although, it wasn't like Sakaki returned the advances.

"You okay Chiyo?" Kagura pulled Chiyo into the room and pushed her towards the couch.

"Um, I don't know really. It's been a long day."

"Yeah, you're totally right and it's not over yet. How about we all take naps?" Kagura yawned.

"Nap time is the best time!" Ayumu agreed.

"Why don't you take the couch, Chiyo?" Kagura started leading Ayumu towards her bedroom.

"I'll get a pillow and blanket for you." Chiyo stared after the two women. No way!

By the time Kagura came back with the pillow and blanket, Chiyo had made up her mind.

…_Tomo had shown up by her side. She was so embarrassed. She knew everyone was staring at her. Tomo helped her up and brought her over to a boulder she could sit on. The teacher came over and scolded her loudly about leaving the trail. Tomo stood quietly by her side as the teacher put band-aids on her cuts. She had remained sitting as the class resumed the hike unsure of how she was going to make it through the rest of the day…_

Tomo sat groggily in front of her computer at work. The painkillers they had given her were starting to kick in. She was hastily typing an e-mail and hoping that no one noticed. After the doctor had put a cast on her arm and told her supervisor she was able to work, she had been assigned to do undercover surveillance for the next couple of days. She had tried to get out of it but Captain Koga had not forgotten her conduct earlier. She cursed her luck under her breath and pressed the send button. Because of the nature of her work, she was often unable to tell her friends and family where she was or what she was doing and for how long. Hopefully, Ayumu would be able to make sense of the e-mail. After clearing up her desk a little, she went to the locker room to get her gear together. The van would be at the agency to pick her up in 15 minutes. She would never forgive herself if Yomi died.

Tomo had been part of the International Criminal Police Organization, often called Interpol, for the past 2 years. Upon completing college, Tomo had been accepted into the Police Academy where she trained for half a year. Her police work after the academy had gotten her noticed by a couple of ICPO officers who recommended her to the organization. Tomo had been enjoying her life as an Interpol officer until she got transferred into Captain Koga's unit 8 months ago. He had singled out the young officer as soon as she got transferred. Her repeated request to be reassigned to a different unit had been denied. The harassment was starting to take a serious toll on her.

…_She started to cry. Tomo gently turned her head so that their eyes met then she leaned in and kissed her. It was her first kiss._

**A/N: **R&R please. Story notes, if any, can be found on my profile page. Ch 3 has been started and should be up some time next week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Last Chance – Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh

**Warning: **Shoujo-ai

…_later when she had asked Tomo why she had done it Tomo told her that she hadn't been able to think of another way to make her feel better…_

Once she arrived at the safe house, Tomo was placed on surveillance duty. Tomo was glad that the trip had taken a couple of hours because of traffic so she could rest. She made her way to the upstairs bedroom where the equipment was set up as an Interpol officer briefed her on the current situation.

The fight. The fight had haunted Tomo for the last four years. She hadn't thought she could hurt over Yomi more than she did because of the fight. But now she knew how wrong she was at making such a stupid assumption. If only she could take it all back.

Kagura put the blanket and pillow next to Chiyo.

"Hey Kagura?" Chiyo asked hesitantly.

"You look like you want to talk. What's on your mind kiddo?" Kagura sat down at the other end of the couch.

"I have a question."

"Okay."

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Chiyo said anxiously.

Kagura tried to smile reassuringly and hoped that the question wouldn't be too difficult. What could Chiyo want to know? She had always tried to be open and honest about everything.

"It's about you and Ayumu." Chiyo was watching her carefully.

Kagura told herself not to laugh although she was finding it very difficult. They had all been waiting for Chiyo to finally start asking questions instead of bottling everything up inside. Now was not the time to send Chiyo scurrying back into her shell by laughing hysterically. It was always surprising and often amusing when Chiyo looked to them for explanations. Kagura took a deep breath.

"We're not together." _Don't you dare laugh, Kagura! _She scolded herself mentally.

"Oh." Chiyo looked relieved but still confused.

"Can I ask you a question, Chiyo?" Chiyo looked up at Kagura.

"It's not about you. I'd just like your opinion." Kagura continued.

"I guess it's ok then…" Chiyo mumbled still unsure.

"Do you think it would work between me and Ayumu?"

"…between you and Ayumu?"

"You're confused by the question aren't you?"

"It's just that I thought…well, you just said that…"

"I see…yeah, I just said that we're not together. Okay, that could be confusing. Let me explain."

Kagura sat back and thought carefully about how she wanted to explain everything to Chiyo.

"Okay. We've all known each other for years, right?"

"Right."

"Out of the 5, you like Sakaki the most, right?"

"…yeah…but not like that…I think…" _What the hell was she saying!_ Chiyo's face turned a bright red.

"Wait! That's not what I meant!" Chiyo cried out.

"Hang on! I was _not_ implying anything!" Kagura tried to reassure the younger girl.

"What I mean…is that we each have a favorite. Yes, we all like each other and that's why we've been friends for years but there is one that we like the most. That's what I mean."

Chiyo looked like she was still in shock at her outburst. Kagura sighed inwardly. Where was Yomi when you needed her? Yomi was always good at explaining things to Chiyo. Thinking about Yomi brought tears to Kagura's eyes. She wiped her eyes and sincerely hoped she hadn't messed everything up by trying to help Chiyo understand.

"Hey, why don't we try this again later? I'm really tired." Kagura asked Chiyo.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about keeping you up, Kagura."

"No worries. We're all here to help you, ya know?"

"I know. Thanks."

Chiyo settled down for a nap on the couch although thinking about what Kagura had said kept her up a little longer. Why would Ayumu be Kagura's favorite?

Ayumu was fast asleep when Kagura finally went back to the bedroom. She had gone to the kitchen for a cup of tea and a donut to calm her nerves. She'd never discussed her feelings for Ayumu with anyone and she didn't know why she had felt the urge to try and discuss it with Chiyo.

Sakaki checked to see if Maya was still asleep in his carrier. Then she settled back as the plane took off. She hadn't seen her friends since Christmas. She hoped that Yomi would make it. Their next meeting would've been the summer party but that was still a couple of months away. She always looked forward to seeing them. Sakaki fought back tears as she thought about her closest friends. She still had many memories that she wanted to have with all of them.

The last time she had spoken with Yomi they had talked about Chiyo. Both women were worried about their young friend and they had discussed different ways of getting Chiyo to open up and talk. Now Chiyo wasn't talking to her at all. She had just talked to Chiyo a couple weeks ago about her current thesis project and everything seemed fine. What had happened to make her change?

_It had happened on a warm summer evening. Yomi had invited Tomo to spend the night at her house, just like old times. They had graduated from college the week before and Tomo was going to be leaving for academy training in a couple of weeks. Yomi knew that it was now or never._

A phone ringing downstairs brought Tomo back to her work. She'd been monitoring the surveillance for hours. She hated this kind of work. Lately, though, she'd found herself doing the really boring, tedious jobs, like surveillance and...paperwork, _ugh!_ She angrily punched in her latest report into the Interpol database.

Tomo looked at her phone wishing that she could call her friends. She noticed that someone had left a message about an hour ago:

_Tomo, this is Kagura. We think Yomi is still in surgery and we're on our way to pick up Sakaki at the airport. Um…it looks like we're all staying at Ayumu's for now since she's closer to the hospital. Call us when you get off of work and I'll pick you up. Bye._

Tomo buried her head in her hands and cried uncontrollably.

**A/N:** Pease R&R.

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate the feedback._

**Story Notes:** Notes are on my profile page because I know that some people might not want to see the reason behind the rhyme. Personally, I don't like looking at story notes until I'm done reading a story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Last Chance – Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Azumanga Daioh

**Warning: **If you haven't realized yet that this story is shoujo-ai this chapter should remove all doubt.

Ayumu was the first to wake from her nap. A glance at the clock told her that they had about an hour before they had to leave to pick up Sakaki. Kagura had her arm around her and Ayumu settled back into her friend's arms. It had been awhile since Kagura had slept over. She absentmindedly started rubbing Kagura's arm as she thought about the train wreck and Yomi. She had never felt so scared in her entire life. But now, here she was with Kagura and she felt so safe.

"Ayumu?" Kagura whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You ok?"

"You're going to work tomorrow aren't you?" Ayumu asked her.

"Yes, if everything's ok with Yomi."

"We should see if Chiyo is awake and have her call her dad." Kagura added.

"Why don't you skip work tomorrow?"

"You know I can't do that, Ayumu."

The national championship was coming up and there was no way she could miss work unless things were really bad with Yomi. She'd probably get a lecture tomorrow from the head coach for ditching today. Ayumu left to wake up Chiyo. Kagura soon followed Ayumu and found Chiyo awake and on the phone. She walked into the kitchen looking for Ayumu but she wasn't there so she started making tea for everyone.

Sakaki had planned on spending most of the flight working on her presentation for the Environmental Summit in Tokyo this weekend. Instead, she spent all of it thinking about Chiyo Mihama. The five years after high school while she was in America they had only seen her once a year during her summer break. The cute, pig-tailed genius had grown up into a gorgeous young lady. At 21, Chiyo was almost as tall as Sakaki and she had a good inch over Yomi. Sakaki laughed at the memory of an extremely irate Tomo the summer a 15-year old Chiyo had returned to find that she was 2-inches taller than the 20-year old wildcat.

She was so happy when Chiyo had told them she'd be returning to Japan to continue her studies at Tokyo U but by that time Sakaki had already accepted a post as a junior assistant at the Iriomote Wildlife Center on Iriomote Island a good 4-hour flight from Tokyo. Sakaki had tried to talk to Chiyo about her feelings before she moved but it hadn't worked. The 18-year old Chiyo was too busy trying to readjust to being back in Japan and losing her friend at the same time.

Sakaki had finally admitted to herself that she was in love with her young friend the summer Chiyo had yelled at her. She had been shocked and horrified that she had hurt Chiyo's feelings enough for her to be mad. With Yomi's help, she had managed to smooth things over with Chiyo. She knew that Chiyo was still bothered by the flirtatious behavior of her friends but Sakaki really didn't know how to make them stop.

It had been so easy to put her feelings away once she had moved to Iriomote Island. She only had to deal with it twice a year, four at the most, and then it would go back in its locked box. Although it had gotten harder to resist Chiyo as she got older. The distance in age between 16 and 21 was definitely not the same as the distance between 21 and 26. Sakaki had kept her feelings hidden to protect their friendship. Things were different now, however, and she wasn't sure which way to run…back to her island or towards her closest friend.

Kagura had just set out the tea when Chiyo walked into the kitchen.

"How's Yomi?" Kagura asked.

"I wasn't able to talk to my dad and the nurses kept giving me the run around. I have a bad feeling that she's still in surgery." Chiyo sat down.

"Yomi is going to be fine. We'll try calling again after we pick up Sakaki." Kagura looked back at the stairs to check for Ayumu.

"Chiyo, could you not mention what we talked about earlier to anyone?" Kagura whispered.

"Sure…of course, Kagura. Actually, about earlier…if you don't mind…" Chiyo blushed again.

"Yeah?"

"Um…why is Ayumu your favorite?" Chiyo braced herself for the answer.

"What!" Kagura was completely taken aback by the question.

"Earlier you were talking about how we all have favorites…"

"Oh right! You kinda surprised me." Kagura laughed at herself.

_I'm in so much trouble! _She cringed inwardly. _What have I gotten myself into! Damn!_ She looked at Chiyo only to be met by the young girl's calm gaze.

"Well…um…Ayumu is…my favorite, uh…because…" Kagura couldn't believe what she was doing.

Kagura suddenly turned around in her chair as she heard Ayumu coming up the stairs. She was carrying a plate of glazed donuts which she put next to the teapot. Kagura poured her a cup of tea before helping herself to one of the donuts. She sincerely hoped that Ayumu did not see the severe blush that was currently adorning her face.

"I wasn't able to get any new information about Yomi's condition. I think she's still in surgery." Chiyo told Ayumu trying to distract her from Kagura.

"Oh, really? I hope she's okay. Are you going to school tomorrow, Chiyo?" Ayumu asked.

"No, I can work on my project from here. I brought my laptop."

"I'll probably have to go in on Thursday, though, to check on one of my experiments." She continued.

"We should probably start heading for the airport." Kagura said.

Ayumu put all the dishes in the sink as the other two went to grab their coats. They were soon on their way to the airport to pick up Sakaki. Kagura tried to get a hold of Tomo but she was only able to leave a message.

"I hope Tomo is okay. Didn't you say she got hurt in the train wreck, too, Ayumu?" asked Kagura.

"Oh no…" moaned Ayumu.

"What's wrong?" Kagura looked over at Ayumu who was in the passenger seat.

"I can't believe…it's just that I was so worried about Yomi."

"I bet she lied about how hurt she was although she did end up going to work…" Chiyo said.

"Everything's such a mess." Ayumu tried to fight the despair in her heart.

"We'll see her tonight, too, Ayumu." Kagura reached out and took Ayumu's hand.

Ayumu smiled gratefully at her friend. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

Chiyo watched Ayumu and Kagura enviously. She remembered how it had been so easy to reach out to any of her friends when she was in high school. She remembered how she cared so much and how she always tried to make them happy. Happy to be her friend. Happy to be with her. Then she left and they changed. Or was it the other way around?

She'd been really happy when she was finally able to come back to Japan to continue her studies. She had been looking forward to spending real time with her friends but then Sakaki left. She was so lost when Sakaki left. Nothing made sense and nothing mattered. She'd wasted the good part of the first year at Tokyo U trying to get herself together. The school president in fact had to lecture her on the importance of her studies.

Every time, since then, whenever she saw Sakaki she would have this fight with herself. She would fight the urge to run. But Chiyo knew the truth and the truth was there was nowhere to run when you were in love.

Yomi woke up in a room that was pitch black. She could barely hear a soft beeping noise that seemed to mirror her heart. Everything hurt. She briefly wondered where Tomo was before falling back to sleep.

**A/N:** Pease R&R.

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate the feedback._

**Story Notes:** notes on profile page.


	5. Chapter 5

**Last Chance – Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Azumanga Daioh

Captain Koga raged silently at his desk. Tomo Takino had been a problem to him for a long time. Longer than the time that she had been part of his unit. Koga looked up as his superior started speaking. They had once again found themselves on Koga's least favorite topic.

"She's so spirited…it's a shame really."

"Sir, with all due respect, the kid's a damn nuisance. Why is she still alive?"

"Koga, I thought you were starting to like the little wildcat. Ha! Ha! I can't believe you would ask such a question." Koga knew better than to trust his supposed good humor.

Koga tried not to cringe as his superior slowly turned his icy glare on him.

"The truth is, Koga, that we don't have time for the petty games that you so enjoy playing with your subordinates. This is the big time so you had better pull through for us."

"Yes, sir."

Koga sat quietly in his office until he was sure that his superior was gone then he quickly picked up his phone. _Damn!_ He had a problem, a very, very big problem.

"Lieutenant Ito, this is Koga."

"Yes, Captain?"

"We have a problem…is Takino still at the Kaneda House?"

"Yes, sir, she's still there. She's assigned to surveillance until Sunday."

Why didn't they listen to him? How many times did he have to point out the serious flaw that was Tomo Takino's existence? How can someone be so _damn lucky!_

Kagura was very worried about Chiyo. She had been secretly watching her for most of the drive to the airport. Ayumu, as usual, had fallen asleep soon after they had gotten on the highway. The nervous and troubled look that Chiyo had on her face hadn't changed through the whole trip. She had also heard her sigh numerous times. Unfortunately, because of Ayumu, Kagura hadn't tried to continue their earlier conversation. She, however, had thought of a plan and hopefully Ayumu would just follow along.

Kagura, Ayumu and Chiyo had arrived at the airport. They quickly walked through the light rain that had started and entered the main terminal. Kagura hoped that the rain wouldn't turn to snow. Snow driving sucked.

As they approached the meeting area, Kagura suddenly grabbed Ayumu and started walking back towards the main area.

"Go pick up Sakaki, Chiyo. We're going to the bathroom." Kagura called back over her shoulder.

"I don't need to…mmph!" Kagura clamped a hand over Ayumu's mouth and dragged her away.

Chiyo didn't think much about Kagura and Ayumu leaving her until she was almost at the meeting area. _Oh no!_ Her mind reeled. She spun around but her two friends were too far to be called back now. _What do I do?_ She had planned on following Kagura and Ayumu's lead when they met Sakaki. Chiyo's heart was pounding as she tried to think of a new plan.

_Just stay calm, Chiyo…remember to breathe…you're a genius…think!_

Chiyo almost fainted as she felt someone's arms envelop her and a familiar voice whispered her name.

"Kagura, we're going to miss meeting Sakaki!" Ayumu struggled to pull away from Kagura's strong grip.

"Will you relax? Just give'em a couple of minutes."

"But I had this _Welcome_ planned." Ayumu snickered evilly to herself.

Kagura shook her head in disbelief. She had been so distracted by Chiyo that she had forgotten about their traditional _Welcome_ for Sakaki. Tomo had started it years ago. The point was to embarrass Sakaki as much as possible…in public. Kagura didn't really know how Sakaki had managed to tolerate their behavior. She was such a good sport. Laughing to herself she glanced back to see if she could spot them.

"Ayumu let's skip the _Welcome_ this time…"

Chiyo hoped that her knees wouldn't buckle as she slowly turned around so that she could return Sakaki's embrace. This was perfect.

Sakaki had not expected to see Chiyo Mihama standing by herself just outside of the meeting area. Her back turned to her. She had expected the usual: extremely loud proposals of marriage, everlasting love and long hot nights from Kagura and Ayumu coupled with various physical attacks from the two. She had been secretly overjoyed, though, when she found out that their ringleader, Tomo Takino, would not be present. Tomo was always able to take it up another embarrassing notch.

Instead, her best friend was there…alone. She didn't know what she was going to do as she approached her but then she felt this strong urge to take Chiyo Mihama in and never, ever let go. She was so happy when Chiyo returned her impromptu hug.

Sakaki finally pulled away only to catch Chiyo fighting a yawn.

"Chiyo!" Sakaki laughed.

Chiyo looked at her best friend and giggled, "It was warm."

"Where're Kagura and Ayumu?"

"Bathroom, I think."

Sakaki picked up Maya and took Chiyo's hand as they went off to look for the rest of their friends.

They found Ayumu and Kagura not by the bathrooms but at the gift shop looking at cards. Kagura grinned when she saw Sakaki and Chiyo walking towards them hand-in-hand.

"We thought we'd get a get well card for Yomi." Kagura said as she hugged Sakaki.

"It's good to see everyone." Sakaki pulled Ayumu into a careful hug hoping the donut shop owner wouldn't cop a feel like last time.

As Kagura went to purchase the card and some flowers, Chiyo updated Sakaki on Yomi's condition and Tomo's whereabouts.

They were on their way back to the car after picking up Sakaki's luggage quickly walking through the light snow when Chiyo's cell phone rang. It was a call from her father. Everyone nervously got in the car while Chiyo talked to him. Sakaki reached over and buckled Chiyo's seatbelt before taking Maya out of his cage. They were soon on the road. Kagura silently cursed the snow.

"What! What do you mean we can't visit Yomi!" Chiyo suddenly exclaimed.

"_What_!" The rest of them echoed.

"We _have_ to see her, papa! Just for a little bit!" begged Chiyo.

Chiyo looked up at Kagura, "Drive to the hospital!"

"Ack! Watch where you're going!" Ayumu suddenly screamed.

The car had hit an icy patch on a bridge and the girls watched, horrified, as the car started to drift and threaten to spin out of control.

"Hang on! Hang on!" Kagura shouted as she tried counter-steering to regain control of the car. "It's going to be alright…I can do this." Kagura blocked out the frantic shouts of her friends, trying to remain calm as she pumped the brakes, willing the car to straighten itself out.

After being reprieved from her post, Tomo went to her room and quickly fell into a fitful sleep. Her fight with her best friend replaying in her dreams…as usual.

_I remember being angry…why? Yomi had told me that she loved me, really loved me. Just me. I had gotten angry. She had been upset. I hated watching her cry but I was so mad…_

"_No! Don't go, Tomo" Yomi begged._

_Tomo raged at her best friend, "I can't believe you, Yomi. Whether I go now or later, it doesn't matter! Don't you get it!" _

"_I thought you loved me, too, Tomo…" Yomi could barely see out of her tear-stained glasses._

"_What does it matter now? I can't believe this!" Tomo shouted._

_Yomi cringed as Tomo broke another one of their framed pictures against the wall._

"_Why did you wait, Yomi! Why the hell did you wait 'til now to tell me!"_

"_I'm leaving in a couple of weeks! Do you understand? I'm leaving and I don't know what's going to happen after that! I don't know where they're going to put me! Dammit! You tell me right now why you waited!" Tomo demanded._

_Yomi couldn't answer and she didn't look up as Tomo stormed out of her apartment._

_Two weeks later, Tomo boarded the train that would take her to the Police Academy. They didn't say goodbye._

**A/N:** Please R&R. A couple more story notes added to profile page 7/8/06.

Again, I must sincerely thank all those who have reviewed this story so far. I hope you enjoy the rest of the ride…

Special Mentions:

Freedric L. Florright: (blush) Would love to see your picture. I can't draw.

Sensational Sista: (bow) I'm writing as fast as I can

Anti Mary Sues: (grin) It is good to be loved. I hope you don't change your mind later…


	6. Chapter 6

**Last Chance – Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh

Kagura gritted her teeth. _I really need 4-wheel drive!_ The car was sliding forward still but the car had spun around and they were now facing the wrong direction in the wrong lane.

Ayumu gazed fearfully at an oncoming car, "_Caaarrr!"_

"Sakaki! Move your head so I can see out the back window!"

In one quick motion, Kagura hit her brakes and spun the steering wheel. Much to the relief of all, the car flipped around so that they were not only facing the right direction but sliding out of the way of oncoming traffic back into their lane.

"_Waaallll!" _Chiyo shrieked.

Alternating between the gas and the brakes, Kagura fish-tailed the car, praying for some traction and hoping the brakes wouldn't lock-up. _Frickin' ice on the bridge! Grrr!_

"_Tree!" _squeaked Sakaki.

Kagura tapped the brakes, feeling the tires grab hold of the road finally; she promptly spun the wheel and slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt on the shoulder of the highway.

Kagura turned to her passengers, "Everyone alright? Chiyo, what are you doing in Sakaki's lap?"

"I got scared." Chiyo mumbled.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, Chiyo. If you weren't driving, Kagura, I'd be in your lap, too." Ayumu grinned.

"What! Why?" Kagura choked.

"Extra cushioning…"

As Chiyo crawled back to her place, Kagura got them back on the road to the hospital.

"Was your dad serious about not letting us visit Yomi?" Sakaki asked as she rebuckled her girl.

"Oh! I better call him back and tell him we're not dead. Get us to the hospital Kagura; I will _not_ be happy if we can't see Yomi." Sakaki fought back a laugh; Chiyo was so cute when she was mad.

"That was some really slick driving, Kagura." Ayumu hugged Kagura's arm.

"Ha! Ha! I would personally like to thank the makers of GTA." Kagura cheerfully announced.

Once they got to the hospital, Chiyo gave Kagura directions where to park.

"Um, Chiyo, this is nice and really close to the hospital but it's where the doctors park." Kagura looked back at Chiyo who was fishing around for something in her pocket.

"Here it is." Chiyo handed Kagura a parking permit. "Just put that on your rearview mirror."

"Did you steal that from your dad!" Ayumu asked with a shocked look on her face.

"—I have 6 doctorates."

Chiyo blushed with embarrassment as her friends all silently stared at her.

"Why do you all look surprised?" Chiyo asked cautiously.

"So, which doctorate got you the fancy parking permit?" Ayumu looked inquiringly at Chiyo.

"—um, well I have two doctorates that allow me to use that parking permit." Chiyo had never really talked about _all _her degrees even with Sakaki so this was making her extremely nervous for some reason. "The first is in Genetics and the second doctorate is in Virology. Um, and I'm currently working on a doctorate in Biophysics so that would also let me use the parking permit. Sometimes the hospital asks me for help."

Again, Chiyo was met by blank stares.

Ayumu leaned over and patted Chiyo's hand comfortingly, "I think it would've been easier to just borrow your dad's parking permit."

"Maya's ready." Sakaki, who had been busy putting a leash on Maya, announced.

The girls piled out of the car.

"Kagura could you open the trunk? I need to get my coat." Chiyo asked.

After digging around for a little while, Chiyo pulled out a white lab coat, a badge and a stethoscope. She put them on as if it were an old habit. Once more, she noticed her friends staring at her. This was really starting to irritate her.

Glaring at her friends, Chiyo placed her hands on her hips, "Will you quit it! Do you want to see Yomi or not! Is it such a big deal that I have 6 doctorates! Or is that not enough! I'm a 21-year old _genius!_ What else am I supposed to do! Huh? You know if I didn't know any better I would think that – pmmff."

Sakaki had calmly walked up to Chiyo and placed her hand over her mouth to stop her tirade, "Chiyo, we're sorry. It's just that you—um, haven't really been yourself, you know? You haven't _really_ talked to us about school in a really, really long time."

"Oh." Chiyo looked sheepishly at her friends, "Sorry."

"No worries." Kagura turned to Ayumu, "Shall we go see Yomi?"

Ayumu was still staring at Chiyo, "You're 21?"

Captain Koga had been picked up by his assistant, Lieutenant Ito. Using his laptop, he was scanning through the Interpol database while Ito drove him to the Kaneda house. He was going to have to deal with Takino by himself. He couldn't risk the chance of anyone finding out about his screw-up.

The surveillance team in the Kaneda house had been set-up six months ago by Koga. Their job was to monitor the house 2 doors down and across from the Kaneda house. This was a drop-off point and occasional safe house for one of Tokyo's rising criminal organizations. They would be at the house in another hour.

The plan, according to Chiyo, was to find out where Yomi's room was located. Chiyo's dad had refused to tell her what room she was in stating that Yomi was in no condition to receive visitors. With her doctor attire, Chiyo hoped to gain easy access to Yomi's location without any fuss.

Fortunately, the hospital was still very busy so Chiyo was able to blend in with the hospital staff as she casually walked behind the nurse's station. After finding the room number, she left to rejoin her friends who were waiting for her in the cafeteria.

Chiyo stopped as soon as she reentered the cafeteria. Puzzled, she carefully looked around the busy cafeteria. She could've sworn that they had chosen a table by the vending machines but it was hard to see if her friends were still there. It looked like they might still be in the same spot but were now surrounded by a large group of people. She walked over to where she thought they had been sitting and was surprised by what she overheard.

"Yeah, she's that researcher from Iriomote."

"Is she allowed to have that cat in here?"

"Do you think she'll give me her autograph?"

"Can I pet the cat? He's so cute!"

"Stupid! That isn't a cat!"

"Have you read her book?"

"God! She's hot!"

Chiyo pushed her way through the crowd. In the middle she found Sakaki surrounded by several male interns, Ayumu and Kagura were sitting at the table drinking juice obviously finding Sakaki's predicament very entertaining.

"I really loved your National Geographic Channel special, Ms. Sakaki."

"I heard that you were doing a presentation at the Environmental Summit this weekend."

"Will you take a picture with me?"

Sakaki was mortified when she looked up and saw Chiyo standing across from her. She couldn't imagine how Chiyo must feel seeing her in this situation. Her best friend looked completely upset by the circumstances.

"Dr. Mihama!"

Chiyo looked around to see who had called her. She took a step back when she noticed that everyone was now staring at her instead of Sakaki.

"How old is she?"

"I took one of her classes."

"She's a doctor?"

"Damn! She's hot, too!"

"Dr. Mihama will you take a picture with Ms. Sakaki and I?"

"Me, too!"

Chiyo looked back at Sakaki. They both stared at each other helplessly. Even though they were only about five feet from each other, it seemed like a mile. She turned to Ayumu and Kagura but they were doubled over with laughter. Why did she think they would be any help?

Koga tossed his cell phone to Ito when it started ringing. They would soon be at the Kaneda house and he still hadn't thought of a plan to get rid of Tomo. Well, he had several plans but he knew that none of them would get him clear of his superiors.

"Captain, its HQ," Lieutenant Ito interrupted Koga's thoughts, "A meeting has been scheduled and they expect you to be there."

"What!"

"It's in an hour, sir. They want to discuss security measures for the Summit this weekend."

"Grrr!" Koga fumed.

He'd have to find time to take care of Tomo tomorrow.

Chiyo and Sakaki were finally clear of their many admirers. Kagura and Ayumu were still laughing over the episode as they rode the elevator.

"I cannot believe that Tomo is missing this!" Kagura wiped tears from her eyes as she continued to laugh.

Chiyo tried to pull away as Ayumu grabbed her hands and batted her eyes at her, "Oh! Dr. Mihama, your lecture on herpes was _soooo_ informative!"

"You know, you two had better get it together," Chiyo stated matter-of-factly as they stepped out of the elevator, "we can't walk into Yomi's room laughing hysterically."

"Why hasn't Tomo called yet?" Sakaki asked as she grabbed Kagura's hand to stop her from poking Chiyo. "I'm starting to worry."

Kagura dug through her purse for her cell phone. "No messages. Should I call her?"

"Let's try calling her after we see Yomi. Then we can give her some news about her condition."

"What are we going to tell Yomi when she asks where Tomo is?" Chiyo asked.

Ayumu looked around at her concerned friends, "Maybe she's asleep."

Kagura looked at Ayumu and nodded, "Yeah, maybe she's asleep."

"We'll tell Yomi that Tomo is at work if she asks." Sakaki said, "Let's go."

Chiyo walked ahead of her friends to make sure they weren't stopped by any nurses or doctors, particularly her father. This floor was pretty deserted compared to the other areas of the busy hospital. Chiyo knew that this floor contained some private suites so she was very cautious because: a) her father had told her _not_ to visit Yomi, b) the private suites were very expensive so her father was probably the one who had moved Yomi there, and c) knowing her father, there was only a very, very small chance that he would not be waiting for them in Yomi's room especially since his office was on the same floor.

"Chiyo Mihama you better not knock on that door." A stern voice called out.

They had been standing in front of Yomi's door for probably five minutes. None of them were really ready to see Yomi, a close friend that they had known for over 10 years. She was like a sister to every single one of them. They knew that they weren't ready to see the truth. But who is ever ready to see a loved one in pain and, maybe, close to death? So, they all gratefully turned around to face Chiyo's father.

"Hi, papa." Chiyo said meekly.

Heikichi Mihama could not remember the last time his daughter had gone against his wishes. He wasn't, however, really surprised that she had disobeyed him. He had been waiting for them for the last hour after one of the nurses he had stationed downstairs had called and told him that his daughter had arrived with her friends.

He had seen them finally reach Koyomi Mizuhara's door and he had been torn between stopping them and letting them go in. He knew what it was like to be kept from a loved one and he also knew the pain of being helpless to save a friend you knew was going to die.

He watched them as they stood in front of the door, unmoving, knowing only too well the thoughts that were going through their heads. So, he called out to his daughter. Their grateful faces broke his heart.

He had brought Chiyo and her friends to his office. They were now sitting at the small meeting table in one corner of his office. Far enough from where he sat at his own desk so that he didn't intrude. He had placed Yomi's medical file in Chiyo's hands.

She didn't open the file at first. She just stared at it. Her friends sat around her silently. Heikichi Mihama wondered if maybe it was still too much for them. Finally, Sakaki moved her chair so it was right next to Chiyo. She put her arm around his daughter and whispered something in her ear. The other two also moved their chairs closer. Chiyo began reading Yomi's medical report.

Heikichi knew his daughter's high school friends very well even though he rarely spent time with them. They would never know how thankful he and his wife were that Chiyo had found such great friends. What parent wouldn't be extremely worried when they were informed that their 10-year old daughter would be starting high school? Neither of them had gone to work the day their only child started high school. They had sat at home all day worrying about their daughter who had insisted that she be allowed to walk to school alone. They wondered if they had made the right decision. Would it have been better to hire a private tutor? It wasn't like they couldn't afford the best.

Heikichi and his wife knew that they had been spared another day of worry because of these friends. For that gift, he would do anything for them even if he truly understood the hopelessness of the situation.

Chiyo sat in shock after she finished reading the medical report for the fifth time. How was she going to break the news to her friends? She stared at the report in her lap not wanting to look at her friends who were patiently waiting for an explanation. She had read it five times just to make sure she hadn't misread any of it.

Excessive lacerations, severe burns, internal bleeding, contusions, fractures, breaks, the list went on and on. She would have thrown the report in the trash by now declaring that it was false if her father hadn't been the one who wrote it. Her friend was literally hanging by a thread having been almost torn apart by the blast of the train bomb.

Ayumu took Chiyo's hand, "Chiyo—just keep it simple. We know that it's bad."

Chiyo looked at her friends and took a deep breath.

"Well, um, Yomi was in the train car next to the one with the bomb. She was hit with a lot of the—the metal after the blast. Lots of metal..."

"…metal?" Kagura asked.

"Yes—there was also some fire."

Sakaki hugged Chiyo closer, "How bad are the burns?"

"Third degree," Chiyo looked helplessly at her friends, "There's more…"

When Chiyo finally finished going over the report with her friends, she approached her father.

"We'd like to see Yomi now."

Heikichi Mihama left Chiyo and her friends alone in Yomi's room. He informed them that a nurse would bring extra blankets, pillows, and futons in case they decided to stay the night at the hospital. He was also sending up some food for them.

After Chiyo's father left, they went straight to Yomi. Their friend appeared to be sleeping peacefully even though she was surrounded by a dozen machines. She was covered in bandages. Both her legs and her left arm were in casts.

She was covered so well that they really couldn't see all the damage that had been listed in her medical report. All they could really see were the ugly bruises on the left half of her face.

"We have to call Tomo…" Ayumu whispered.

Tomo was jarred out of her fitful sleep by the ring of her cell phone. Picking it up she saw that it was Kagura. She knew that she wasn't allowed to take personal phone calls but because of the late hour she knew that it was an important call. But did she really want to know what was going on? Right now, Yomi was still alive to her.

The phone eventually stopped ringing. Tomo waited to see if Kagura left a message. She was allowed to check her messages.

Nothing. No messages. Tomo flopped back down on her bed silently hoping that everything was alright and Yomi was still alive. Why didn't Kagura leave a message?

Tomo was just about to fall asleep when her phone started ringing again. This time, she answered it.

"How is she?"

Kagura was so relieved when Tomo finally answered her phone, "Tomo! Thank God! This is the tenth time that I've called you! Where are you?"

"How's Yomi?" Tomo asked again.

"You might want to sit down, Tomo…"

* * *

**A/N: Please R&R.** Story notes updated and profile actually started 7/16/06

_Naming Chiyo's dad_:

I took the dad's name from a list of Japanese names I found on a website. If you don't like it you can write your own story and change it to a name you prefer :P

I needed to give Chiyo's dad a first name to insure clarity through the rest of the story since they're both doctors. I also named him to safeguard my sanity and eyesight since I reread my writing ad nauseum.

_Thank you to all who have reviewed!_

Special Mentions:

_TheTrueWolfBrother_: All of the above but haven't we all been there.

_Ari Matoya_: Thank you for the compliment. Sorry, no Yukari and Nyamo although I plan on writing a story about them eventually.

_Anti Mary Sues_: You're funny, lol. I don't think you can really categorize Koga as an OCS because of the timeline. This is just a personal opinion of course grin


	7. Chapter 7

**Last Chance – Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Azumanga Daioh

Tomo sat alone in her room desperately trying to understand what Kagura had told her. It all seemed so impossible even though she had seen Yomi herself right after the bombing. Yomi had looked at her and talked to her, could her injuries really be that bad?

"Tomo?" Kagura was worried. Tomo hadn't said anything through her explanation of Yomi's injuries. "Tomo, please say something."

"Have you reached Tomo yet?" Chiyo asked, "You've been out here for over an hour."

Kagura was in the hall outside Yomi's room, "Yeah, I just finished telling her about Yomi. But she hasn't said anything."

"Want me to try talking to her?" Chiyo suggested.

Kagura shook her head when Tomo started talking.

"Kagura,"

"Yeah?"

"I want to talk to Yomi," Tomo demanded.

"—But she's asleep and besides I don't think we're allowed to do that."

"Wake her up."

Kagura looked at Chiyo helplessly, "She wants to talk to Yomi. She said to wake her up. What do I do?"

Chiyo took the phone from Kagura, "Tomo, Yomi is asleep right now and because of the surgery—I don't think…"

"_Shut up!_"

"T-Tomo?"

"I swear to God, Chiyo, I'm going to kill you if you don't let me talk to Yomi, _now!_"

"Please calm down Tomo." Chiyo begged, "Getting angry isn't going to solve anything."

Tomo fought to control her emotions. She was so angry and upset and frustrated. She had picked up her gun and was pacing her small bedroom desperately trying to find reason. If she could just hear Yomi's voice, it would be alright.

"I just want to talk to her. Can't you understand that? It's _not_ fair!"

Chiyo shuddered at the desperation in Tomo's voice. What was she going to do? You don't just wake people up after they had spent half a day in surgery. Besides, there was the chance that Yomi might not ever wake up.

"Oh shit!" _Click_.

"Tomo?"

Chiyo turned to Kagura, "I think she just hung up on me."

"I don't want to sound like a bad friend but I think that's probably a good thing." Kagura said with a sigh of relief. "That was really scary."

"You heard?"

"I heard." Kagura shook her head in disbelief.

When Chiyo and Kagura went back into the room, Sakaki was just walking out of the private bath carrying a vase with the flowers that they had bought at the airport. She walked over to Yomi's bedside and put it next to the other flowers that had been brought by Yomi's family. Ayumu was setting out the food that had been delivered from the cafeteria.

Yomi's private suite was a single, large room that was comfortably decorated. There were two couches on one side near a television. There was also a desk, a small kitchenette and a long table that could seat 8 people. A couple of nurses had placed the extra pillows, blankets and futons in a large closet that was next to the bathroom. Someone had also placed a picture from their last summer trip on a dresser near Yomi's bed.

"How's Tomo?" Ayumu asked when she saw them.

Kagura walked over to the table and sat down, "Not good would be the polite way to describe Tomo right now."

Sakaki had pulled a chair over to the bed and was holding Yomi's hand, "Not good?"

"She's very upset to say the least." Chiyo added.

"Why are you two being vague?"

Kagura looked at Ayumu, "We're not being vague. It's just that Tomo—well she didn't deal very well with the news. I really don't want to say that she went crazy but…"

Chiyo nodded, "—truthfully, I'm not surprised at Tomo's reaction."

"Well, did she at least tell you where she's at or when she's going to show up?"

Kagura thought about their conversation, "Well, now that you mention it, she didn't tell me anything…"

Tomo quickly shoved her cell phone in her pocket.

_Knock! Knock! _

Opening her bedroom door, she found one of her co-workers.

"Yeah? What?" Tomo growled.

The officer eyed the gun he saw in Tomo's hand warily while taking note of the angry glint in her eyes.

"Heard some shouting. Is everything okay?"

"Of course."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine."

"Are your injuries bothering you? We can call the doctor..."

"Go away."

Tomo closed the door and walked over to the desk. She opened the top drawer and placed her gun under some papers. What was she going to do? She was exhausted by this point. Sitting down on her bed she opened her wallet and pulled out the only picture she ever carried. It was a picture of her and Yomi. They had taken it during their senior trip to Okinawa. A lifetime ago. When they were still best friends. She stared at the picture until she fell asleep. She had promised Yomi that she'd be there for her—always.

Sakaki pulled out some pillows and blankets. She wondered if Chiyo would want to sleep on a futon or on the couch. Chiyo had agreed to stay with Sakaki at the hospital since she didn't need to go to school the next day. Kagura and Ayumu were going back to the donut shop because they both planned on going to work. Chiyo would soon be back after she had gotten her bags from the car.

"Wait a sec, Chiyo!" Kagura opened Ayumu's door, "I'll be right back, Ayumu."

After closing the car door, she ran over to Chiyo.

"How are you doing?" Kagura asked concerned.

Chiyo looked up at the starless night sky and fought back the tears that threatened to fall.

"I wanted to thank you—for helping us understand about Yomi." Kagura looked at Chiyo steadily.

"Your welcome."

"I'm sorry if we've been acting like knuckleheads."

Chiyo took Kagura's hand and looked her in the eye, "I owe you, Ayumu, Sakaki, Tomo and Yomi _my_ thanks. All of you have always watched over me. I'm old enough to understand the truth now. And it's about time that I helped out my friends."

"It's good to have you back, Chiyo." Kagura squeezed Chiyo's hand. "How are you and Sakaki?"

"I'm going to try talking to her tonight."

"Well good luck and if you need anything just let me know."

"Thanks. Good night, Kagura."

Kagura gave Chiyo a hug before she walked back to the car.

"Everything alright?" Ayumu asked.

"Yeah," Kagura looked over at Ayumu, "everything's fine."

Chiyo let out a sigh as she got into the elevator. She had, once again, been accosted by several of the male interns. When she was younger she had wondered about the attention she was given but by now she had grown to absolutely loathe it. It never failed, whether she was at school or at the hospital _they_ were always bothering her. Chiyo hoped that Sakaki wouldn't be upset that she was late or, even worse, asleep.

When Chiyo finally got back to the room she found Sakaki awake much to her relief. Sakaki had turned the TV on to the late night news but she was sitting by Yomi again. She had already changed into her pajamas. She looked up when Chiyo walked in.

"What took you so long?" she asked worriedly.

"They're always so—so enthusiastic. It's really annoying." Chiyo shook her head in disbelief.

"I see."

Chiyo went and stood next to Sakaki after she dropped her bags on the table.

"Do you think Yomi will be alright?" Sakaki quietly asked.

Chiyo answered honestly, "No—no, I don't think she'll make it. Although, it is amazing that she made it through the surgery. I wish Tomo were here."

"What did Tomo say to you and Kagura?"

Chiyo laughed wryly, "She said that she wanted to talk to Yomi."

Sakaki turned and looked at Chiyo. Her friend was staring at Yomi, sorrow written all over her face. She remembered that when they were younger she was always trying to keep Chiyo happy. She wanted to erase the pain just like before. What she _really_ wanted was to kiss Chiyo Mihama but she wouldn't—now was not the time. Instead she placed her hand on her shoulder and gave her a quick hug before she stood up.

Chiyo was startled by the touch, "Sakaki?"

"We should get some sleep, Chiyo." She walked over and turned the TV off. "Did you want the couch or the futon?"

Chiyo guessed that Sakaki wasn't up for any talking this evening, "I'll take the couch."

Chiyo decided to take a shower before going to bed so she was surprised to find Sakaki still awake when she walked out of the bathroom. Sakaki was sitting at the table lost in thought, typing away at her laptop.

Chiyo sighed to herself as she finished drying her hair. Tomo was right, it isn't fair. She had really wanted to talk to Sakaki. Walking back over to Yomi, she sat down and took her friend's hand.

For once, Chiyo really, really hated the fact that she was so smart. She understood every minute nuance of every injury that Yomi had sustained. She understood too well the consequences and the probabilities. She knew that she was smart but she also knew that she wasn't smart enough to save Yomi.

* * *

**Please R&R.** _Thank you to all who have reviewed! I appreciate all your feedback._

TorankusuGohan: I had Chiyo at 2 doctorates and then I thought, _What the heck!_

Anti Mary Sues: Thanks for all your help.

OtakuOtter: cute name. no offense taken. thanks for the compliment.

Sista: We can't shoot Koga yet!

**A/N**: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. The next one will be much longer. Oh yeah, and yer a sicko if you thought I was going to have Sakaki and Chiyo do 'something' in the same room as poor Yomi, _rofl_ :p

**Shameless Plug**: I have a new story, "Nyamo the Player". You can get to it through my Profile page. _Warning_: This particular story is not for little kiddies.


	8. Chapter 8

**Last Chance – Chapter 8**

I am very sorry that this update is so late. I would like to blame Mai Otome and a lack of internet access for about 2 weeks. Thank you to all who have reviewed. I have tweaked my writing style a little in this chapter. I don't know if it's noticeable. Your input is, of course, greatly appreciated.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh

* * *

_You have 1 unread e-mail:_

osaka theyre making me work i wont be able to call  
work will be long sorry leave msg about yomi will  
call when i can don't email—tomo

* * *

Although college separated most of the girls, if asked, they would all agree that this was the time that truly cemented their friendships. Ayumu and Tomo were at the same college that was close to Kagura's. Yomi was a little further away working towards a law degree. Sakaki wasn't close but the girls could easily spend a weekend visiting her. Chiyo was, of course, in America and the girls were greatly disheartened when they realized that there was no way that they could all afford to visit her. 

It had been Yomi's idea that they try their best to see each other over the winter holidays and also to continue their yearly summer trips to Chiyo's beach house. Understandably, Chiyo was the only one who didn't regularly make the winter gathering but she always made it for their summer trip. These times together marked their lives indelibly.

It had been harder to keep in contact once they had all graduated from college. Kagura had gotten a job coaching, Tomo had left for the Police Academy, Yomi had gone on to a law school that was further away, Sakaki was up north at a wilderness reserve, Chiyo was still in America and Ayumu was extremely busy with her new business. They spent more time exchanging e-mail and talking on the phone then actually seeing each other.

Yomi and Tomo had managed to keep their fight at the end of college a secret. Since one was training for police work and the other was away at law school, the other girls had no way of knowing that there was a huge rift between the two. The first summer trip after a year out of college, however, had revealed all. Ayumu, Kagura, Sakaki and Chiyo, once they realized what was going on, had actually sat the two girls down in an attempt to resolve the situation. They were very concerned about the two but both girls weren't ready to be reconciled. Sakaki found out later that the best friends were still talking to each other through e-mail and random phone calls and she let the others know that all was not lost. She hoped that over time Yomi and Tomo would find peace and be able to rebuild their friendship.

After college, Ayumu found herself spending a lot of time with Kagura. They simply fell into this routine of hanging out. Both girls were old enough to appreciate the old familiarity that they had with each other. Ayumu had been Kagura's most loyal supporter when it came to her sports. All the girls had been able to attend quite a few of Kagura's swim matches but Ayumu never missed a single one while they were in college. When she started coaching, she then continued to attend those events, too. Many of Kagura's co-workers were clearly surprised when they found out that the two weren't romantically involved but simply good friends.

Kagura had been the first one to hear of Ayumu's plans for a donut shop. Ayumu had been pleasantly surprised when her friend enthusiastically supported her. Kagura had helped her look for a place to set up shop. She'd been there when she told her parents about her plan and asked them to help her get a loan. She was there when she applied for a business loan at the bank. She'd been there for everything and anything.

Ayumu started her donut shop right out of college with help from her parents and Kagura. It hadn't been easy at first since she really didn't have any help but knowledge came with experience and Kasuga Donuts had an extremely loyal following by its fourth year of business. She was able to employ 2 full-time bakers and had 6 part-time cashiers, so she was able to spend time participating in all aspects of donut selling instead of being stuck making donuts all the time.

It was the second year that Ayumu's donut shop had been open when Kagura suddenly realized that she had feelings for her friend. She had once again had to explain to a couple of new athletes that Miss Kasuga was just a friend. These cheeky kids had not let up with such a simple explanation and had used all their critical thinking skills to point out what was apparently obvious to everyone but herself. After their persuasive speeches, Kagura had a really hard time denying what was in fact true. She spent many nights trying to figure out why she was falling in love with her spacey-donut-making-friend. She still wasn't sure what the draw was, however, and had come to the conclusion that maybe she should talk to Ayumu about her feelings—eventually.

oooooo

Ayumu Kasuga, the former professional sleepyhead, was by now use to getting up extremely early so when her alarm sounded at 4:00am she was up in an instant. She was, however, a little surprised to see Kagura watching her as she climbed out of bed since the swimmer had the habit of sleeping like a log until exactly 4:30am which was her normal wake-up time. Ayumu always found it amusing that Kagura rarely gave up those 30 minutes between their wake-up times.

"You have 30 more minutes, Kagura." She said as she pulled on her robe.

"Are you ok?" She asked when she noticed the weird look on Kagura's face. Sitting back down on the side of the bed, she felt her friend's forehead.

Ayumu heard Kagura mumble, "No." before the swim coach turned over on her side and faced the wall.

With a sigh, Ayumu glanced at the clock, 4:05am, "What's wrong?"

"Everything."

"You don't have to go to work today."

"Yes, I do."

"Want to talk?"

In answer, Kagura gave Ayumu a push. With a sigh, Ayumu adjusted the blankets around her friend and then headed to her shower. Kagura had been acting weirder than usual. Like last night before they finally went to bed, she kept starting a conversation and then refusing to finish or continue it. The former knucklehead wasn't sure what was up but she did know that she was extremely worried. She _really_ didn't know why she wanted Kagura to skip work but she had a feeling that it had to do with the train bombing. Maybe it wasn't a good time to share her _I don't think it's a random event Theory._

Kagura sat groggily in front of her soggy bowl of cereal. She hadn't slept well at all constantly waking up with the vision of Yomi haunting her. Today was not a good day to be out of it although she was extremely tempted to call in sick. There were more important things than sustaining the pristine reputation of the Tokyo U swim teams. _Gah! _Who was she kidding? She _loved_ her job.

"Don't you have a game tonight?" Ayumu asked as she put the finishing touches on her friend's lunch.

Kagura looked over at Ayumu in disbelief, "Your not seriously thinking of going to the match are you?"

"Why not?" Ayumu took Kagura's cereal bowl, "It's almost 5:00, you should hurry."

"What about Yomi?" Kagura asked worriedly, "You should go see her instead of me."

"I think I'll invite Sakaki and Chiyo, too." Ayumu mused.

"Absolutely not!" Kagura got angrily out of her chair and turned to her friend, "Someone needs to be with Yomi! I can't believe your saying these things! What the heck is wrong with you!"

Ayumu turned around, completely surprised by Kagura's outburst. She hurried over and put her arms around Kagura who had started crying she was so upset.

oooooo

Heikichi Mihama walked into Yomi's room. It was 10:00am and he wanted to make sure the girl was properly prepped for her next round of surgeries. He was surprised to see that only two of the girls had spent the night, Sakaki and his daughter. He gently shook his daughter awake. She had fallen asleep next to Yomi.

"Good morning, papa." Chiyo gave her father a hug as she stood up. "Taking Yomi?"

Heikichi nodded, "Did you want to take part in the surgery?"

Chiyo gazed worriedly at her friend, torn by indecision. Would it really make a difference if she was there? "I—I think that I'll stay here. I shouldn't leave Sakaki alone."

Her father nodded. He picked up the phone by Yomi's bed and called the orderlies in to take Yomi. Chiyo squeezed Yomi's hand and said a silent prayer as she was gently moved to a gurney and wheeled out of the room. Chiyo followed them out to the elevator walking in hand with her father. "She'll be fine." Heikichi whispered as he kissed his daughter's cheek before entering the elevator. He tried to smile as the doors closed.

Sakaki had just got up when Chiyo returned to the room. "Did Yomi leave for surgery?" The tall girl asked as she started putting the bedding away.

"Yeah, she's going to be in surgery all day again." Chiyo went over and helped Sakaki straighten things up. "Did you have any plans for today?"

"I really need to finish my presentation for this weekend but other than that, I have no plans."

"I have to do a little work on my thesis but since I plan on checking on my experiment tomorrow, I can put it off."

"Breakfast?" Sakaki had moved over to the kitchenette and was going through the cupboards, "or lunch?"

"Do we even have any leftovers from last night? I could've sworn that Kagura finished it all." Chiyo said as she opened the refrigerator, "Hmm, nothing in here."

Sakaki walked over to her laptop, "Why don't we go over to Osaka's? We can keep her company and work on our projects while we wait for news—and eat her donuts."

Chiyo looked longingly at the older girl. She wanted to spend today alone with her but, then again, it would be nice to go back to the donut shop. Chiyo really liked Osaka's place. It was really comfortable and there were _donuts_.

Sakaki looked up after awhile when Chiyo didn't answer and she noticed the girl had zoned out on her. She walked up to her friend, "We don't have to go, Chiyo. We can stay here if you want."

Sakaki fought back the urge to jump all over her friend as the younger girl blushed furiously. Sakaki was pretty sure that she knew what Chiyo was thinking and was not completely against making those thoughts come true—but this was not the time. It hurt to have to put the wall up again, even if it was shorter and made out of tissue. She knew that starting a relationship under their current trying circumstances would only cause problems later when they were forced with the reality of leaving each other again. She couldn't give up her job and she knew it. She also knew that there was no way that Chiyo Mihama was going to walk away from Tokyo University.

Sakaki made her decision, "Chiyo, before we go, I'd like to talk to you about—us."

Chiyo studied her friend and tried to take a guess if this was going to be a happy or sad conversation. Now that she was faced with the reality of 'talking', she was torn between her current relationship with her best friend and the new one that would surface because of this particular discussion. She couldn't say no to her best friend, though.

"Alright, I'd like to talk about us, too." Chiyo said as she sat down at the table.

Sakaki brought some tea over and poured them both a cup. She couldn't ignore that her friend was beside herself with nervousness and she knew that what she had to say might not go over well.

"I've loved you for a very long time, Chiyo Mihama."

oooooo

Tomo was woken up by one of the Interpol officers at her assignment. Propping herself with her good hand she looked around. She had fallen out of her bed and was face down on the wooden floor.

"Are you alright?" the officer asked, "You didn't fall out of your bed, did you?"

Tomo laughed it off, "This use to happen a lot in high school. I toss and turn a lot when I sleep." The statement brought back memories of Yomi screaming at Tomo about her sleeping habits and pushing her frequently off of the bed.

"Tomo?" the officer kneeled next to Tomo, who had fallen silent.

Tomo pushed the memory away along with the tears, "But it's probably not a good thing with a broken arm."

"Let me help you up." The officer helped Tomo to sit on her bed than asked again if she was okay. Tomo said she was fine and the officer left with a reminder that her shift would start soon.

Tomo started inspecting her broken arm after the officer left. Everything seemed fine but—maybe—if she got hurt again she might be allowed to leave—and then—she could go see Yomi. This new plan instantly brought back Tomo's cheshire grin. Hmmm, she thought, it can't be helped but I guess I could throw myself down the stairs.

**

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A/N: **Well, I must say that once I did get internet access back I was very happy to see that there were a bunch of new AzuDai stories to be read and quite a few had been updated, huzzah! Most of these stories are very good and I really enjoyed reading them…even if I didn't leave a comment. Keep writing!

_Where's the beef? AKA: I thought this story was shoujoai, where be it? Arr!_

So you didn't get the memo to the hidden shoujoai chapter? OR you did get the memo but access to said chapter was denied. If you didn't get the memo then your application, if you filed one, to be added to the Hidden Shoujoai Chapter Memo List was denied. I suggest you get over it, mwhahahaha! If you did get the memo but were denied access then you are not of legal age to view the mature content that is contained within the hidden chapter. My advice: You can get over it or you can purchase a fake ID, bwahahahaha!

Ahem, seriously, the fluffiness will occur at the appropriate time within the storyline. I really can't tell you when that's going to happen.

Lastly, please review my story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Last Chance – Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh

**A/N:** I'm glad you're all enjoying the cliff hangers. I put them at the end of each chapter especially for _you_. I think they are a great plot device to keep readers coming back, lol. We aren't close to the end yet so I hope you continue to enjoy the ride.

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ooo _flashback _ooo 

She was almost through her first year of law school and constantly fought the urge to just quit. Why didn't anyone warn her about the amount of work becoming a lawyer entailed? _Yargh!_ _It was never ending! _Yomi crumpled yet another draft and tossed it into the wastebasket next to her desk.

_Riinngg! Riinngg!_

A welcome break from writing yet another 20-page paper, Yomi did not hesitate to answer her phone.

"Hello?" She cheerfully answered.

"Uh—Hi, Yomi." Tomo's voice crackled over the phone, "How are you?"

"Busy." Yomi said curtly. My luck, it's a call from Tomo, Yomi thought bitterly.

"Oh, well—I'm sorry to bother you but I kind of wanted to talk." Tomo's voice was faint under the increasing static.

"It's really hard to hear you, I think something's wrong with the connection." Yomi could barely hear Tomo.

"I said that I want to talk to you!" Tomo shouted into the phone.

"What?" Yomi was confused. _Bzzzkshhhhh. Click._ "Tomo? Hello?"

Yomi hung the phone up and thought about trying to call Tomo back. It had sounded like Tomo wanted to talk to her about something but knowing Tomo, whether or not that something was actually important was completely unpredictable. She really didn't need _this kind of_ distraction from her school work. Yomi picked the phone up and dialed.

"Hey, Osaka."

"Hey, Yomi." Ayumu answered, "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing, um, I'm just calling to say hi, why?" _How did she know something was wrong?_

"You slipped, Yomi-chan." Ayumu giggled.

"Slipped?" Yomi cautiously asked.

"Yup, you called me 'Osaka'." Ayumu clarified, "You've gotten in the habit of calling me 'Osaka' when you're upset."

"Oh…" Yomi didn't know what else to say after such a revelation.

"What did Tomo do this time?"

ooo _end__flashback _ooo

"_Tomo!_" the Interpol officer checked for a pulse, "Danjuro! Call an ambulance!"

The other officer, Danjuro, ran into the hall when he heard shouting. Tomo Takino was laying at the bottom of the stairs a pool of blood slowly forming near her head. The officer that had called him was next to her checking for injuries.

"What happened, Goro?" Danjuro walked over to offer assistance.

"I don't know but I think she tripped down the stairs." Goro turned Tomo over gently, "It looks like she hit her head. Hurry and call an ambulance!"

After calling for an ambulance, Danjuro returned to Goro with a stack of dish towels. Handing them to his partner, they helped each other stem the bleeding.

"She tripped?" Danjuro asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, I was on my way to my room," Goro explained, "—Man, it was like a really bad B-movie."

Danjuro looked at Goro puzzled, "Eh?"

"What? You've never watched a B-movie?" Goro chuckled, "Hand me another towel."

"Nope, but what does that have to do with Takino?"

"Never mind—anyway, I heard a loud yelp and when I looked up, I saw Tomo poised at an odd angle at the top of the stairs with this—well, I want to call it a shocked look—but, you know how Tomo can get…" Goro checked to see if the cast on Tomo's arm was still intact.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Danjuro laughed, "Hey, you don't think she did it on purpose do you?" Tomo had quite the reputation for finding herself in precarious positions either by accident or clever planning—no one could ever tell the difference.

"I hear the ambulance. By the way, I don't think that it would be good to speculate about—that…" Goro stood up to let the paramedics in, leaving Danjuro with the unconscious Tomo.

oooooo

Ayumu was in front this morning, cheerily selling donuts and trading gossip. Customers were scattered around inside the store at the many tables eating donuts and drinking coffee. Some were reading the newspaper, visiting with friends or watching the news. Ayumu was still receiving frequent compliments on the redecoration that had just been completed last week.

She wished that today she could've hid in the back though. It had been a really trying morning. Kagura had stormed out of the kitchen shortly after her outburst. She then quickly left the apartment and headed off to work leaving Ayumu thoroughly confused and upset. She was a bit angry at this point though because Kagura had decided to ignore her offer of help. This was the first time that her friend had ever run away from her. She would try to call her during her lunch break. Actually, Kagura would probably call to apologize before that.

Ayumu suddenly stopped what she was doing and walked around the front counter. She stopped in front of the TV hitting the volume so she could hear the news. The anchorman was talking about the upcoming Environmental Summit but that wasn't what had caught the attention of Ayumu Kasuga.

_Further news, Kaede Mihama, the head of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been named as the mediator at the World Environmental Summit this weekend in Tokyo. She hopes to…_

oooooo

"Captain Koga, this is Lieutenant Goro. I am calling to let you know that Sergeant Takino fell down the stairs this morning and has been sent to the hospital. Sergeant Danjuro is with her. I have already called in for a replacement." Goro breathed a sigh of relief as he hung up the phone, unbelievably thankful at only having to leave a message rather than talk to the captain in person.

It wasn't a big secret that Captain Koga was one of the biggest pricks ever but it wasn't like Tomo's grade school antics had made her a lot of friends, either. To his own credit, Goro was more at ease with the easily distracted wildcat than the sadistic supervisor. Goro sincerely hoped that his hyper-active co-worker would be alright.

Everyone at HQ was quite wary of Koga's temper which was more often than not directed at Sergeant Takino. The rumor was that Tomo had done something bad to Koga sometime before she joined Interpol. Goro wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Tomo had embarrassed the stuck-up captain as a 5-year old and that he had been carrying a grudge ever since. _Hmph! _Maybe Tomo had dropped some ice cream on his uniform or run her tricycle into his car or played doorbell pranks at his house. Who knows?

oooooo

"Coach! Coach Kagura!"

Kagura didn't even miss a beat as she flipped back to swim another length of the Olympic sized pool pointedly ignoring the assistant coaches that had been yelling at her for quite some time from the side of the pool.

She'd been lapping the pool for some time now, desperately trying to come to terms with her stressed emotions. She knew that she had upset Ayumu. She couldn't remember if she had ever upset Ayumu as much as she had today. There must be some way to make everything better! I think I'm just tired from everything in general. It's not like my job is easy. It just looks easy. I have to wake up early, coach the teams, teach swim classes, find time to work out. I'm at work all day. And on top of this, Yomi is in the hospital. _Get it together, Kagura!_

oooooo

Sakaki was sitting on the couch holding Chiyo in her arms, waiting until the younger girls sobbing stopped. She hugged her tighter, "I'm sorry, Chiyo."

Chiyo knew that she was being unfair. It wasn't like Sakaki wasn't just as upset about their situation. She knew that her dear friend was being strong for her sake at this point. Deep down she had known what Sakaki was going to say to her but she had to hear it. She had been working towards giving Sakaki the same speech, too. It hadn't been a horrible this-will-never-work-in-a-million-years kind of talk. No, that was not the most upsetting thing. The worst part was that they would have to wait. Having already waited a long time for this moment and they still had to wait for their time together.

"We can make this work," Sakaki reassured her, "it'll just take some—work."

"I know—it just," Chiyo searched for the right word, "—sucks."

"Ah, my poor little Chiyo." Sakaki laughed.

"I love you." Chiyo whispered as she hugged her friend fiercely.

oooooo

The ambulance hurtled down the freeway siren blaring while the paramedics with Danjuro's help fought to keep Tomo Takino alive. They suspected that she hadn't added any more damage to her broken arm but the fact that she had cracked her head open was not good. The medics were most worried about the extent of her head trauma and possible brain damage.

"Tomo Takino?"

"Tomo Takino can you hear me?"

"She isn't responding."

"We have to hurry. She's lost a lot of blood."

"She really did a number on her head, ne?"

_...Yomi…almost there…wait for me…_

oooooo

Ayumu was sitting in the back trying to make sense of the e-mail that Tomo had sent her yesterday. Really, she thought, I shouldn't be surprised that this e-mail makes no sense. I should have Chiyo look at it later. Giving it one final read through she closed her e-mail and shifted her attention to working on the necessary paperwork that helped keep her business running. She had been engrossed in her work for almost an hour when the phone rang.

"Kasuga Donuts."

"Ayumu," Kagura spoke in a nervous rush, "I'm sorry about this morning. I promise it won't happen again."

"You're early." Ayumu chuckled, "and I accept your apology."

"Early? It's the regular time that I call." Kagura asked as she got up to see who had knocked on her office door.

"So you didn't get lectured for ditching work yesterday?" Ayumu asked innocently.

Kagura fought the urge to start laughing hysterically when she saw who was at the door, "I'll call you back. The game starts at 6:00."

oooooo

Sakaki kept stealing glances at Chiyo as they walked to the train station holding hands. It was all just a dream still. Almost unreal. The irony of it all. They were together right now because of Yomi.

"W-Whoa!" Chiyo cried out as she was jerked to a stop. Turning to Sakaki she saw that her friend was crying. Looking around she pulled Sakaki off the sidewalk and over to a nearby bench, "What's wrong?"

"Yomi." Sakaki cried, "We're here right now because of Yomi and—and it's _not_ fair!"

Chiyo tried not to cry but it was really difficult. What would people think if they saw two grown women crying and wailing?

"There's still hope, Sakaki." Chiyo said reassuringly also wanting to believe her own words, "Hey, why don't we get some juice. We haven't eaten anything all morning."

oooooo

"Chiyo, Kagura has a game this evening at 6:00. I'm going and I was wondering if you and Sakaki wanted to go, too. I think it's been awhile since you've seen a game. Call me back." Ayumu hung up the phone after leaving the message wondering where the two were. Maybe they had gone somewhere for lunch. It probably wasn't a good idea to sit around that hospital all day. Ayumu grinned to herself. Knowing those two, they were probably on a date already.

"Ayumu, we need help up front."

"Alright! Let me grab these donuts and I'll be right out!" Ayumu called to her employee. I wonder where we should go for dinner after the game?

oooooo

Sakaki followed Chiyo to an empty bench on the train, two cans of juice in her pocket.

"How come you didn't tell me about being on television?" Chiyo asked.

"Oh—that, um, well…" Sakaki blushed.

Chiyo laughed as she watched Sakaki stumble through her explanation. Sakaki was so—modest. Even with her internationally acclaimed book. Yomi had been the one who had sent her a copy since Sakaki hadn't told her that she had _finished_ the book. She still remembered Sakaki's shocked face when she had brought it out over their last winter holiday and had nonchalantly asked for an autograph. She had been completely speechless. They had all had a good laugh over that.

"Well?" she teased.

"I did tape it for you." Sakaki looked at her puzzled. _Is Chiyo teasing me?_

Chiyo saw the look. Unable to resist, she leaned into her friend. Reaching up she captured her face in her hands.

Sakaki watched completely transfixed while her temperature rose and her heart beat accelerated and Chiyo's face got closer and closer. _She's going to kiss me…_

oooooo

Heikichi Mihama looked at his colleague clearly irritated, "This had better be good." He growled.

The first part of the surgery had gone well but they had been having nothing but trouble throughout the second phase. He had made an emergency call to one of his friends, calling in a much needed favor, but the brain surgeon wouldn't be here for another thirty minutes. Thirty _damn_ minutes! They had to keep Yomi alive for at least that long.

"Tomo Takino…" the doctor began.

"Is she here?" Heikichi demanded. A good sign, _finally!_

"It's not that…"

"Then what the _hell_ is it! I do _not_ have time for games, doctor!"

"She'sjustbeenadmittedsevereheadtrauma…" the doctor spoke in a rush.

ooo _flashback_ ooo

"Tomo just called me but the connection was bad it sounded like she wanted to talk." Yomi explained exasperatedly.

"Are you two fighting?"

"N-No, knowing Tomo, she probably wanted to talk about baseball or something else inane."

"We're not in high school anymore, Yomi, you should stop treating her like a little kid."

"Um—It's not—it's just…" Yomi blinked away tears, "I'm really busy with school work right now. I don't have time for Tomo."

"Hey, why don't you come over." Osaka suggested, "I think it'll be easier to talk over some donuts. Sounds like you need a break."

"Thanks, Ayumu."

ooo _end flashback_ ooo

_This is a special news bulletin! Another train bombing in Tokyo has just been reported…_

Ayumu dropped the tray of donuts she was carrying as she slowly turned towards the TV screen. _Oh God! Not again! Where were her friends!_

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** **Please R&R.**

_B-movie:_ a low budget film with cheese and campy acting most often associated with the horror genre

_Kaede Mihama_: Yes, she is Chiyo's mom. I wanted her name to be similar to Chiyo's but none of the names I found seemed to work. So, unlike her dad, I didn't have a nice list to choose from.

_Special Request:_ If anyone can tell me the girls heights, I would really appreciate it! I kind of need to know their heights for a story that I'm working on. I have some guesses but I think I might be a bit off. I've also gotten some help on this already but I'd like to compare notes just in case. Thanks for the help!

* * *

_**Thank you for the reviews!**_

_Zexsankun_: thanks for noticing…sort of, lol. Never fear, it's there and, yeah, its silly subtle. I've been reading other fanfics and 'borrowing' ideas here and there. I do realize what styles will not work for me but sometimes there are little things that I can take and incorporate into my writing. So the best way for me to describe what you're seeing in the writing is to say that there is _more_ there.

_Theladyperson_: Of course Tomo is going to throw herself down the stairs just to see Yomi, LOL. That's why we lurv the wildcat! Except I think she miscalculated her trajectory and point of impact…

_Andrew the Poe:_ thanks for the compliment! For this story to work, I had to get the girls to a little more serious point and have them mature a bit. It's been fun trying to write them mature but still with their unique quirks.

Ultra-_Matrixed_: thank you! I have put quite a bit of thought into this story and I'm glad you're enjoying it. I have noticed a lack of continuity between my chapters but it's probably only something the writer and the people who keep rereading the entire story would notice. I probably won't go back to tighten things up though. There will be 'trysting', lol, but not too much because I don't want to move this story to the M section.

_Sensational Sista:_ I think you'll be happy with this chapter when you eventually get back :P You just can't count on Tomo to behave herself when you're gone, haha. That one needs to be _watched!_ Glad you liked the back story. I, for one, as a reader always love learning more about what's been going on with my fave characters. So I always enjoy back story info.

_Fyrwarrior_: I have to give you a reason to come back, hehe. Again, I'm really sorry that the update took so long but I am glad that I can blame it on everything but me, ardee-ar-ar!

_Spritznar_: Thanks!

_Ari Matoya:_ you know we're all wondering about which character(s) you're talking about, lol. I guess Chiyo and Sakaki since Yomi is incapacitated. My second guess is Tomo and Kagura since Ayumu is decidedly un-Osaka like. Ahem, 'intriguing' :P

_OtakuOtter_: Thank you!

_Rukaxmichi_: I like teh chocolate money that's wrapped in gold tinfoil, haha. Makes me feel like a pirate, Yarr!

_JinjoJess_: Yeah, I did leave the KaguraxAyumu couple thing hanging there for awhile. Glad you like the pairing.

_TorankusuGohan_: Hmmm, well I'm gonna guess that you're even more worried about Yomi now and Tomo, too. But the plus side is Sakaki and Chiyo, right?

_SuzumiyaISM_: hehe, I put a teeny hint of shoujoai there for you :P

_Balambfish_: um, keep cheering for Yomi! All is not lost…um…I guess we should start cheering for Tomo, too, lol

**Shameless Plug:** I have posted a new shoujo ai story for the Azu-gang: _Denied!_ (Rated T)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Sorry to leave y'all hanging for so long. Please enjoy!

**Last Chance – Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Azumanga Daioh

Captain Koga was in his office and clearly in a good mood, "Lieutenant Ito?"

"Yes, Captain?" The lieutenant stopped the search he was doing in the database.

"I want you to replace Takino at the Kaneda house. Make sure everything goes as planned and keep an eye on Goro and Danjuro. I don't want any trouble from them."

"Yes, Captain. Also, I think you should know that Tomo talked to someone on her cell phone yesterday. Someone named Kagura for about an hour."

Koga narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Do we know anything about this person?"

Ito shook his head, "Not much. She's currently a swim coach at Tokyo U and she went to high school with Takino."

"Alright," Koga started looking through the papers on his desk, "I don't think we need to worry about her since Takino has taken the liberty to remove herself from the Kaneda house. There should be no more problems. I want you there as soon as possible. I'll be at the convention center the rest of the day setting up security."

oooooo

"Ms. Kasuga?"

Ayumu looked up, "W-What?"

"You fainted. You're in your apartment."

Ayumu sat up slowly giving her employee a confused nod, "I don't remember…"

She turned as she heard one of the baker's coming up the stairs, "Yeah, she's here…one second Kagura."

"Kagura?"

"Ayumu, did you hear about the train bomb?"

ooo flashback ooo

Ayumu met Yomi at the train station. Together they walked back to her apartment which was just a short five-minute walk from the station. Yomi ate the mini-donuts Ayumu had handed her as she got off the train.

"So these are healthier donuts?" Yomi asked between munches, "They taste really good."

Ayumu nodded to her friend, "Yup. They're my new secret recipe. The secret is in the size."

Yomi laughed quietly to herself. Leave it to Ayumu to think smaller donuts are healthier because of the size, she thought.

As Ayumu prepared tea for the two of them, Yomi brought her up to speed as to the goings on in her life since they hadn't talked for over a month. Law School was keeping her extremely busy and that she had applied for an internship over the summer at a local law firm. She had visited her parents two weekends ago and they were doing fine. They still hadn't touched her old bedroom and much was the same in the old neighborhood. She had not had time to visit Yukari and Nyamo but heard that they were doing well. She had talked to Sakaki last week and found out that Maya had been sick for awhile but had recovered and was back to menacing the other animals in the refuge. She heard that Chiyo was thinking of coming home soon but hadn't made up her mind.

"How's Tomo?"

Yomi fiddled with her tea cup while she thought about how to answer that question. She really wanted to tell Ayumu about the fight they had but she was so ashamed at her behavior and she also didn't want Ayumu to get mad at Tomo. From her infrequent talks with her former best friend, she had gathered that the wildcat was enjoying herself thoroughly at the academy. She wasn't surprised that Tomo had chosen the perfect career for herself.

"She's doing well."

"Are you sure?" Ayumu casually asked as she helped herself to a mini-donut.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's doing well."

"You two had a fight, right?"

Yomi watched as Osaka's eyes started to slowly unfocus. There she goes, she thought, well maybe she'll forget she asked that last question…

"Ayumu, I'm kind of puzzled." Yomi reached out and took her friend's hand to get her attention.

"You're puzzled?"

"Yeah. You're not the same…like in high school, remember?"

"Ha! Kagura asked me the same question just the other night! I know that I was a bit spacey in high school and also in college, for that matter. Well, the simple answer is that my donut shop kinda forced me to be in the here and now. If I wanted to succeed I had to get it together, ya know?"

Yomi nodded, "I know exactly what you mean."

Ayumu smiled at Yomi. This is exactly why she liked the bespectacled girl so much. She, out of all their friends including Kagura, always seemed to understand her even if what she said came from the left field of planet Mars. Ayumu hoped that Yomi would be able to talk about her current problem with Tomo. She knew that those two were soul mates…

ooo end flashback ooo

Sakaki's heart raced as she accepted the kiss. Everything seemed to stand still as they enjoyed their moment.

_Screeeeeeeech! Ka-thunk!_

Sakaki tightened her hold on Chiyo as their train jerked to a halt. The passengers all started talking, worriedly wondering aloud about their safety. The train bombing from the day before was fresh on everyone's mind.

Sakaki hugged Chiyo, "Everything's going to be okay."

"I know." Chiyo said reassuringly, "Let's wait and see if they make an announcement."

The girls waited patiently talking quietly about seeing Ayumu and hoping they would arrive in time for fresh donuts. Even when the other passengers started leaving to see if they could reach the train conductor at the front, they didn't move. Fifteen tense minutes had passed when the lights in the tunnel and the train went out without warning. Sakaki pulled Chiyo even closer as scared passengers started trying to force the doors open and break open the windows.

"Okay, I'm definitely scared now." Sakaki whispered.

"The emergency lights should go on soon…I hope." Chiyo whispered back.

_Ffzzzttt._ Everyone was instantly bathed in a red glow as the emergency lights turned on. This was soon followed by an announcement:

_Attention passengers! We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stay seated as we work to restore power. Please stay calm. We will be on our way again once power is restored…_

As the announcement was repeated several times, everyone started to calm down and return to their seats. Five minutes later a couple of train employees walked through the cabin reassuring the passengers that they were only experiencing technical difficulties.

"Feel better?" asked Chiyo.

"Much better. Hey, we never called Ayumu and told her that we were coming over."

"Oops." Chiyo giggled, "I'll call."

When Chiyo flipped her cell phone open she saw that she had a couple of messages. One from Ayumu and one from her father. She checked her dad's message first:

_Chiyo—uh, well, it's been a busy morning…really busy. I got you're note about going to Ayumu's. Please call me when you get this message._

"My father left me a message saying to call him. Should I call him first?"

"How did he sound? Do you think something has gone wrong with Yomi's surgery?"

"He sounded very tired. I think something must've gone wrong with the surgery…hopefully, not too wrong. All the surgeries today for Yomi were critical. If even one of them doesn't work, it would affect all the rest of her surgeries."

"Oh." Sakaki wiped tears from her eyes. "Let's call your dad from Ayumu's. I—I really think we should wait 'til then—just in case."

"Okay, I'll wait to call—hmm, Ayumu is inviting us to go see Kagura's team this evening. That sounds like fun."

"We might not be able to go…" Sakaki started tearing up again.

Chiyo handed her some tissues, "It's okay. Yomi will be okay. I'm sure it's not that bad."

With a sudden lurch, the train started moving again. The emergency lights switched off and the regular lights soon came on. Chiyo kissed Sakaki's cheek and held her hand as her girl wiped the tears from her eyes. She hoped she didn't sound like a total idiot as she tried to reassure her friend.

oooooo

Kagura had gone to one of the nearby faculty lounges to eat her lunch after she had received a rather longish lecture from her supervisor about missing work the previous day. She had apologized profusely and was glad that he had patiently listened to the reason why she had run out of work. Earlier, she had apologized to the girls on the water polo team about her absence. Luckily, some of them remembered Yomi from last season's games so they weren't too upset about her missing practice and were glad that Yomi had not died in the train bombing.

As Kagura arranged the lunch Ayumu had packed for her, she watched the news and hoped that they wouldn't be hit with another cold snap this evening. There was a nice restaurant near the school that she was hoping they could all walk to after the game. She would have to remember to call Ayumu later and discuss dinner plans with her…

_This is a special news bulletin! Another train bombing in Tokyo has just been reported…_

Kagura spewed juice all over the table as she heard this announcement. Jumping out of her seat she quickly walked over to the telephone and hastily yanked the receiver from her co-worker.

"Hey there, I need to make an emergency phone call…he'll call you back." Hanging up the phone, Kagura quickly dialed Ayumu's number as she shoved her sputtering co-worker out of the way.

"Ayumu, did you hear about the train bomb?"

"Yeah, I—I just heard." Ayumu answered quietly.

"Do you know where the others are?"

"No. I haven't heard from any of them although I did leave a message on Chiyo's phone about tonight."

"Okay, I'm going to call Tomo and I want you to call Chiyo or Sakaki. Call me back, 'kay?"

"Ayumu? Hello? Are you there?" Kagura wondered why Ayumu wasn't answering.

"Kagura…" Ayumu tried to stay calm.

"What's wrong?"

"Will you come home please?"

"Ayumu, I can't—I just got lectured. Please understand besides I'll see you tonight." Kagura whispered over the phone since her earlier outburst had gotten the full attention of several of her co-workers. "What are you so worried about?"

"I just want you here."

"Look, I'll call Tomo and then I'll talk to my supervisor and see what I can do but I really can't promise anything because of the game tonight. Please understand."

"Okay, I'll call Chiyo."

Kagura hung up the phone and apologized to her co-workers before packing up her lunch and heading back to her office. Why was Ayumu doing this? Kagura dug through the papers on her desk looking for her cell phone. I hope Tomo wasn't on that train. What am I gonna do about Ayumu? …and I still need to eat lunch.

oooooo

Heikichi Mihama checked his watch. Yomi was almost two-thirds of the way through her surgery. Things were still not going smoothly but the circumstances were definitely not as dire as earlier that day. And then there was Tomo Takino…that scamp! Tomo was Heikichi's favorite of all Chiyo's friends. He loved her energy and love for life. He still didn't know why he was so worried about her. Because head wounds bleed a lot, the initial diagnosis was serious but once at the hospital emergency room they were able to quickly take care of the wound. There was a good chance that Tomo would be fine. When he had a moment he would have to have some of the nurses make room for Tomo in Yomi's room.

oooooo

Ayumu thanked her employee's for taking care of her before she excused herself to make a phone call to Chiyo. As she walked into the kitchen she thought some more about her latest conversation with Kagura. Something wasn't right and she couldn't tell if it was her or her friend. Maybe she could talk about if with Chiyo or Sakaki and they could make sense of it all.

------------------------

**A/N:** I am completely to blame for the lateness of this update. My apologies to all. Also, I wanted to write a longer chapter but I thought that it would probably be better to just get another update up rather than forcing myself to write more. I hope that I haven't 'lost' any of the story because of the time between updates and the unfortunate hectic RL schedule that is tormenting me, ha ha. In other words…please R&R and let me know if the story appears to be moving in the same direction or if adjustments need to be made. Thank you.

_**Thanks for the reviews!**_

Nazulleptra: Thank you for the information on the girls' heights. I do have a 'thing' for donuts, ahem…lol

Sista: Thank you also for height information.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Thank you all for your patience. Enjoy!

* * *

**Last Chance – Chapter 11**

Chiyo had just pulled out her cell phone to call Ayumu when it rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Chiyo! I have a problem!" a frantic voice quickly spoke.

"Um, who is this?" Chiyo asked as Sakaki looked at her worriedly.

"Who is this?" questioned the voice.

"Who is this?" Chiyo asked once more.

"Who is this?" asked the voice hesitantly.

"Chiyo."

"Yes?"

"Who is this?!" Chiyo asked more urgently.

"Chiyo?" answered the voice.

"No! Who are YOU?!!" Chiyo tried to control her temper.

Sakaki wondered if maybe she should talk to the anonymous person that had called her girlfriend.

She placed her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, "Let me talk."

Sakaki smiled at Chiyo as she gave her a pat on the head before taking the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" Sakaki asked.

"Sakaki?" spoke the voice.

"Yes? How may I help you?" Sakaki asked calmly.

"I have a problem."

"Oh."

"Can you help?" asked the voice expectantly.

"Sure."

"Umm, I have this problem..." the voice sounded sad.

"Yes?" Sakaki was really starting to worry about who was at the other end.

"Where are you?"

"What?!" Sakaki choked.

Chiyo giggled at the sight of Sakaki losing her cool as she tugged her out of her seat. The train had finally arrived at their stop.

------

Kagura frowned at her phone. She kept getting a 'cannot be connected' message. She had dialed five times just to make sure but this was very unusual. She hoped that Tomo was okay wherever she was because they didn't need another friend barely hanging onto life in a hospital bandaged from head to toe. She sighed and placed her phone back in her purse as she thought about Ayumu's request.

Given the current circumstances it was definitely not an unreasonable request but why was she being so adamant about it especially with knowing her routine during polo matches. Kagura doodled absently on her desk calendar as she tried to find an answer.

Her best friend is asking her to come home...

...she's asked more than once...

She was upset when she said 'no'...

Kagura glanced down at her calendar, shuffled some papers around and read through her team roster twice.

...Ayumu has never been this _different_ before...

_She's just worried_, Kagura thought to herself, _just stressed over what happened to Yomi...but aren't we all? _

------

"Osaka!" Sakaki sputtered into the phone as she finally realized who was on the phone.

"Why are you way out there?" Ayumu asked innocently.

Chiyo looked incredulously at Sakaki. "That...that was Ayumu?! Why didn't I recognize her voice?" She shook her head as she tried to figure out why she hadn't recognized her friend's voice.

"Um, we're actually not in Osaka." Sakaki giggled. "We're just down the street from your shop."

"Oh, good." Osaka muttered absently. "Hey, we'll talk more once you get here. Bye."

"Bye." Sakaki handed Chiyo her phone. "I can't believe Ayumu just put us through all of _that._"

"Heh! It's been awhile since we've been Osaka'd." Chiyo laughed.

------

Kagura was just about to leave her office and head over to her next class when her phone rang. Checking the clock she glanced at the caller id. Hesitating just a moment until she saw who was calling she answered the phone hoping that her friend wouldn't be able to sense her anxiety.

"A-Ayumu..." Kagura tried to think of something to say, "...uh...mm...have you heard from Sakaki and Chiyo?"

"Yup!" Ayumu cheerfully answered. "They were on a train but not the one that got bombed. They are on their way here. Actually, they said that they were just down the street so I should see them very soon which is good. I need to talk to them."

"Yeah, glad to hear that they're okay. Um, I wasn't able to reach Tomo. There's something wrong with her phone." Kagura started doodling on her calendar again. "What are you going to talk about with Chiyo and Sakaki?"

"Ahhh...there they are." Kagura could hear Ayumu shouting greetings to their two friends. "Kagura, call me when class is over, 'kay?"

"Okay...and, um, I'll see if I can leave work early once I see my supervisor."

"Thanks, Kagura."

---flashback---

"How is Kagura?" Yomi asked Ayumu as she slowly nibbled on the last mini-donut.

"Busy." Ayumu answered as she pushed a fancy, blue envelope toward her friend. "But she finds time for me know and then."

Yomi picked up the envelope and was just about to ask what the two of them did together when she noticed the address on the envelope. Yomi gave the envelope back to Ayumu.

"You haven't given Tomo your new address." Ayumu calmly explained. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I think I should get back to work on my paper." Yomi started to stand up.

Ayumu placed a hand over Yomi's wrist, "Yomi, Tomo is graduating next week. Why doesn't she have your new address? You know you can talk to me."

Yomi looked away as she pulled away, "I really need to finish that paper."

Ayumu looked at her friend and briefly thought about pressing the point but she knew that Yomi and Tomo would eventually be reconciled. She just hoped it wouldn't take too long.

---end flashback---

Chiyo and Sakaki were both shocked when they found out about the second train bombing. As they sat at a corner table eating donuts with Ayumu, they discussed the possible reasons behind the bombings.

"Sakaki, do you think it has something to do with the Summit this weekend?" Ayumu asked, "Y'know, there'll be a lot of important foreign people there."

"It does seem like more than a coincidence..." Sakaki answered thoughtfully.

"No...no..." Chiyo squirmed in her seat, "It can't be the Summit."

"Why else would there be sudden terrorist attacks like the train bombings? Two bombings in two days." Ayumu pushed more donuts toward Chiyo.

"Maybe it's a territorial mafia war..." Chiyo suggested.

"Or it can be an underground rebel insurgence against the government..." Sakaki added.

"Nah." Ayumu shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the Summit."

Sakaki put her arm around Chiyo as she felt her scoot closer to her, "The security at the Summit is pretty tight. I got a letter about the strict security measures they were going to take to insure the safety of all the presenters. It would look really bad for the government if something serious were to happen this weekend."

Ayumu was about to continue her argument when one of her workers called her over to the counter.

"Are you all right, Chiyo?" Sakaki carefully asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"I--I just don't want anything to happen to you, too."

"I'll be fine. If something bad happens I'll leave immediately, okay?"

"...maybe I should stay with you this weekend..." Chiyo suggested shyly.

Sakaki giggled and gave her girl a hug, "That's a great idea! I'll be able to check into the hotel Friday morning."

"Why don't we go for a walk? If we stay here any longer, I'm gonna eat every single donut that Ayumu baked today." Chiyo laughed.

"Yeah, let's walk down to the mall and get a present for Yomi."

Chiyo cleaned up their table as Sakaki grabbed their purses. The girls then walked over to tell Ayumu where they were headed.

Ayumu slowly shifted her gaze from Chiyo to Sakaki as she listened to Chiyo talk about walking to the mall. Sakaki watched Ayumu curiously. She hadn't seen _that_ look in a long time.

"Are you ok?' Sakaki asked Ayumu.

Ayumu shook her head, "I have a problem but I think it can wait until y'all get back from the mall."

Chiyo was taken aback by the sudden sadness in her friend's voice, "We can go later, Ayumu. If you need to talk to us, we'll listen. Can you take some time away from the store right now? We can go upstairs and talk."

"Chiyo, we forgot about calling your dad." Sakaki reminded her.

"Why don't y'all wait upstairs? Call your dad. I'll just finish helping down here and I'll be right up." Ayumu pushed her friends towards the back as she headed towards the irate customer that was complaining about their not being enough chocolate on his chocolate donut.

------

Chiyo walked into Ayumu's living room and sat down on the couch as she returned her father's call. Sakaki stayed in the kitchen having snagged some more fresh donuts on their way upstairs and started another pot of tea.

"Papa, how's Yomi?" Chiyo asked while praying for a good answer.

"What took you so long to call back?"

"Sakaki and I took the train to Ayumu's donut shop and there was another train bombing that delayed our trip." Chiyo explained trying to ignore the tiredness in her father's voice.

"Well, I'm glad you called." Heikichi tried to sound positive, "There were some complications with Yomi during the first phase but I called in a favor and she appears to be stable again."

"But everything's going well?"

"I think so. Yomi's hanging in there so, um, hopefully the next phase will go well. We're setting things up right now. But there's something else you should know, Chiyo."

"Something else?"

Heikichi paused as he tried to get his thoughts straight. He was very, very tired and he knew that his daughter was already stressed. He didn't want to mess up explaining Tomo's arrival at the hospital.

"First, I want you to understand that everything is going well with Yomi. I know you understand her chances but there's nothing wrong with hoping for the best."

"What's going on?" Chiyo whispered in fear.

Heikichi smacked his forehead. _Good going! Now Chiyo's not only worried but scared, too!_

"I didn't mean to scare you, honey." Heikichi explained, "It's just that there's been an...unexpected...um, development. Tomo was admitted to the hospital this morning."

"...admitted?" Chiyo frantically looked around for Sakaki, "What? I don't understand--"

Sakaki almost dropped the fresh pot of tea when she saw the look on Chiyo's face as she practically ran into the kitchen. She quickly placed the pot back on the stove as she took Chiyo into her arms.

"What's going on?" Sakaki worriedly asked, "Is Yomi okay?"

Chiyo placed her cell phone into her hands as she cried uncontrollably.

"Dr. Mihama?" Sakaki asked.

"Sakaki, Yomi's okay. I didn't mean to scare Chiyo. Please tell her that Tomo is okay also." Heikichi explained.

"Chiyo, your dad says that Tomo is okay, too." Sakaki started to repeat, "...wait...Tomo? Is Tomo there?"

"Tomo is here and she _is_ okay. She has a concussion but she's fine. I don't want you girls to worry." Heikichi sighed, "Please tell Chiyo that I'm sorry that I upset her. Yomi's surgery was...tiring...and we're not finished yet."

"I understand Dr. Mihama. Thank you for all your help. Can we visit Tomo?"

"You _could_ visit her but she's heavily sedated and she will probably...well...hopefully...sleep through the rest of the day. Yomi's surgery is very delicate and Tomo can be very energetic...I guess that sounds kind of bad."

"No, you're right, Dr. Mihama. Yomi needs to rest and, given Tomo's reaction to last night's phone call..."

"Yeah, Chiyo told me about it. I have to go, Sakaki. Please take care and, again, I'm very sorry for scaring my daughter. Please tell her that I'm very sorry. I'll call when Yomi's surgeries are finished."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

------

Sakaki hugged Chiyo as she repeated her father's apologies.

"Did he explain how Tomo received a concussion? Is it from the train bombing yesterday?" Chiyo asked once she calmed down.

"No, he didn't say how Tomo had gotten hurt. Let's take the donuts and tea into the living room."

Ayumu joined them just as they finished moving the tea and donuts into the living room. Sakaki went back into the kitchen to grab cups as Chiyo updated her on Yomi's situation and then also added the news about Tomo.

"Whew! So much has happened!" Ayumu exclaimed as she helped herself to some fresh donuts, "Although, I'm glad Tomo is okay."

Sakaki and Chiyo both nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess I should tell you two about my problem." Ayumu began.

* * *

**A/N: **Once again, I must thank you all for your patience. I didn't think it would take me two months to update this story. **Please R&R.**

_Sensational Sista, fyrwarrior, TorankusuGohan & Otaku Otter_: Thanks for your continued support. (hands out fresh donuts)

_Ari Matoya:_ Terrible anime ending? Whatever could you mean? LOL, just kidding. Thanks for the continued support!

_Alithea:_ Thanks for the review!

_Insaneiac:_ Yup, I pretty much inhaled Azumanga Daioh in one day when I finally got around to watching it. Thanks for the review!

_Hoppy-Chan: _Thanks for the spam!! I really appreciated every single one of your reviews.

_Spontaneous:_ I'm glad you finally got around to reading my story. I enjoy your stories, too. I must admit that I researched all the medical stuff but I'm glad that it has made my story sound realistic.

_AGOL_: This chapter didn't have much of a cliff-hanger but that's because the next one promises to be a doozy, lol. Thanks for the review!


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